Gaming - Page 976

Yesterday we reported on the Nintendo Switch's uncovered Unreal Engine 4 display profiles, asserting that the console-and-handheld hybrid would use medium 1080p settings. But it appears we might've been wrong: the Switch could use high 1080p settings within Unreal Engine 4, effectively going toe-to-toe with the PS4 and Xbox One's base in-engine GFX settings.

Based on the Unreal Engine 4 Scalability Reference Guide given to us by one of our readers, we can see that our original scale that assumed 1=low, 2=medium and 3=high settings was off the mark. Instead, Unreal Engine's scale goes like this: 0=low, 1=medium, 2=high and 3=Epic (ultra).

This effectively means that the Nintendo Switch's UE4 display profiles score in the high and medium settings category, respective to the docked console and handheld form factors.

Hit-game Pokémon Sun and Moon has been scheduled for an expansion to release early next year. The trading card game will be acquiring loads of new features.

The new Sun and Moon update will introduce over 40 new Pokémon into the game, whilst Legendary Pokémon will have the ability to launch super attacks. Though these will only be a once per game offer. The expansion will also include three new 60 card theme decks, with instructions as how to play the game correctly.

The Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion will launch in Europe and North America, February 3, 2017. Available for Nintendo 3DS from online stores.

EA DICE will be celebrating the holidays in a big way for Battlefield 1, throwing over a new custom game mode called Blind Delivery - which is a unique look at the War Pigeons mode. This will see the mini map disabled, with handguns and explosives only.

It's not just the new Blind Delivery game mode, but there will be more content flowing through until December 29 - including the Holiday Truce dog tag, vehicle skins, and login bonuses. Here's what to expect:

December 21: The new Custom Game "Blind Delivery" goes live. Tackle this unique take on the War Pigeons mode where the minimap is turned off and only handguns and explosives are allowed.

Nintendo is slowly building the hype for its next-gen Switch console, but according to a 'What To Expect In The Games Business' article on GamesIndustry.biz with analysts and people involved in the gaming industry - Nintendo is going to have a massive year in 2017.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Patcher talked about Nintendo and their Switch sales in 2017, where he said: "The Switch is sold out through September. The console looks fun, the price appears to be right, and I expect demand to be high. If there is a lot of third-party support (games, not merely labels), I think demand remains high".

I would have to agree, Nintendo is going to be selling Switch consoles like hotcakes. As Patcher points out, if there are a lot of third-party games and support from game publishers, Nintendo's new Switch console could be a huge deal in 2017.

We don't know much about Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Scorpio console, apart from the fact that it'll be a 4K gaming console that handles VR and has 6 TFLOPs of performance - but what about price?

I've been expecting Microsoft to nail $699 since it'll be a premium console, but Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has said that Xbox Scorpio "is priced at $399", where he adds: "This might not be low enough, particularly if PS4 Pro drops before holiday 2017, but Microsoft has to price competitively or fall farther behind".

I think we'll see Xbox Scorpio coming out at $599 or so, and ushered in as a premium console with "Made for 4K" games as Dan Pearson of GamesIndustry.biz puts it. I want to see 1080p 60FPS as the minimum option, while 4K 30FPS (ugh) will be offered because the 4K buzzword marketing hype machine will demand it.

We've heard rumblings that NVIDIA will unveil a new Shield TV Android set-top box powered by its new Pascal architecture at CES 2017, and now some leaked images have popped up to show what the next-gen micro-console may look like.

NVIDIA may not launch one, but two new Shield TV consoles in the near future--a standard model with an accompanying controller and remote, and a smaller set-top box that could have some features shaved off to reduce price. It's possible that the new Shield TV duo may be based on NVIDIA's next-gen Parker Tegra X2 SoC, which uses a Pascal GPU and is based on the 16nm FinFET process.

As for a new NVIDIA Shield tablet, we might not see one this time around, which could be the reasoning behind the cheaper, smaller Shield TV variant. Although FCC filings hinted that the device was in the works, but NVIDIA has apparently scrapped the tablet so it didn't interfere with the new Nintendo Switch, which is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra processor and uses a hybrid tablet that transforms into a console when docked.

Amazon has just released their latest Final Fantasy XV deal online, just in time for a last-minute Christmas present.

For $34.99, customers can purchase Final Fantasy XV for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, nearly 50% off the original price released only a month ago. In addition to the discounted price, customers will receive a portion of the DLC Holiday Pack and Holiday Pack Plus.

Grab Final Fantasy XV on the Xbox One here.

If you had any doubts that Nintendo's new Switch transforming console and handheld hybrid would scale its performance across its two modes, then we have some actual hard evidence for you.

Since the Nintendo Switch supports Unreal Engine 4, one sleuthing NeoGAF user thought to check UE4's master .bin for any mention of the Switch...and lo and behold, they discovered the Switch's UE4 display profiles. The profiles tell us quite a bit about the Nintendo Switch's overall power, indicating that the Switch will indeed be more powerful while docked in its cradle, and with the GPU downclocking to reduce fidelity and graphical settings while in handheld mode to reduce heat and battery drain.

The UE4 profiles not only scale down graphical effects and settings, but also reduce the screen size to compensate for the display switch from a 1080p HDTV to the Switch's portable 6.2-inch 720p display.

The Division has received a patch for the PS4 Pro version of the game, which will now natively render at 1080p, while the UI will be displayed in 4K.

Ubisoft Massive notes that the improved 1080p resolution will also include better looking shadows and reflections, but it still won't hold a candle to the high-end PC side of things where you can enjoy native 4K resolution, HBAO+, PCSS, HFTS, and every graphical setting maxed out if you have the PC horsepower to handle it.

Also remember, that DX12 support was recently added to The Division for PC gamers.

Crytek has been going through its fair share of problems, with our last story on the company seeing rumors that the gaming studio wasn't paying its staff - and now comes the news that it is shutting down 5 of its studios in South Korea, China, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey.

The reason? Crytek wants to "refocus on its core strengths of developing innovative games and game-development technology". This leaves just two Crytek studios open, with one based on Germany and the other in the Ukraine, with these studios shutting their doors:

Crytek co-founder and Managing Director Avni Yerli said in a press release: "Undergoing such transitions is far from easy, and we'd like to sincerely thank each and every staff member - past and present - for their hard work and commitment to Crytek. These changes are part of the essential steps we are taking to ensure Crytek is a healthy and sustainable business moving forward that can continue to attract and nurture our industry's top talent. The reasons for this have been communicated internally along the way. Our focus now lies entirely on the core strengths that have always defined us - world-class developers, state-of-the-art technology and innovative game development, and we believe that going through this challenging process will make us a more agile, viable, and attractive studio, primed for future success".

Suicide Squad was a mess of a movie, and I doubt it would've been any better in game form - so to read the news from Kotaku that Warner Bros. Montreal have canceled their long-rumored Suicide Squad game, shouldn't come as a surprise.

Kotaku reports: "Executives at Warner Bros. decided to axe the Suicide Squad game earlier this month following a long period of turbulence at WB Montreal, according to three people familiar with the studio. The game, which would star DC Comics' eponymous band of anti-heroes, had been in development for at least two years. Hints of its existence had been floating around for just as long. I've heard it was a co-op game-and that it failed to impress Warner Bros. management during greenlight meetings-but not much else".

WB Montreal are now reportedly focused on their new Batman game that will be centered around Damian Wayne, and for those who don't know who that is, he is the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul - and as Wikipedia points out to me, that makes him the grandson of Batman villian Ra's al Ghul.

DICE is now teasing Battlefield 1's first DLC package 'They Shall Not Pass' with a single teaser image - that you can see below.

EA DICE will release the paid DLC for Battlefield 1 in March 2017, providing at least two new armies in the game - something that will include the French and Russian empire. If you've got Premium pass, then you'll receive two weeks early access to each pack. EA DICE explain:

Battlefield 1 Premium Pass members will be granted two-week early access to each pack, starting with Battlefield 1 They Shall Not Pass in March 2017 that will bring the French army into the battle in multiplayer.

Capcom has unleashed the Resident Evil 7 demo teaser "Beginning Hour" onto Steam, weighing in at just over 3GB - and I've played it. It's awesome, and you need to check it out. As for the PC requirements, here's what you'll need:

MINIMUM:

RECOMMENDED:

Resident Evil 7 has enjoyed a mostly positive buzz throughout 2016, but now we have our hands-on the PC version of the game - at least in its demo form, with some more details on the game now released.

Capcom is tweaking the game as you play, so that your experience is changed depending on how well you're playing Resident Evil 7. This was teased by Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi in an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine UK, where he said: "Let's say you're playing a section and you die because you weren't able to react in time. Well, if you die a few times in that particular scene the game will adapt a little bit and bring the difficulty down a touch to give you the opportunity to proceed".

He continued: "But we want to make a game where people don't see dying as a negative thing because it's a horror game. It just isn't like a shooter where dying is a case of losing a life or losing your progress. In a game like this, the fact that something comes out and kills you outright is all part of the horror experience. We're trying to smooth the process of getting back into the game after dying, rather than limit any of the possibility of dying, because making the game too easy would also detract from the horror experience. Survival horror has to have a certain volume of player deaths to occur in order for the horror to be effective; you're scared of the idea that your character died, not of the mechanic of dying".

Arkane has rolled out Dishonored 2's free NewGame+ mode, and rather than just letting you replay the game as either Corvo or Emily, you get to play as both: well, kind of at least.

If you're already beaten Dishonored 2, you'll want to give the game another whirl: trust us. Your NewGame+ playthrough will let you combine both Corvo and Emily's powers together to create some amazing customizable combos.

"Dishonored 2 offers the freedom of choice to play and improvise as you like. With this new mode, combine Empress Emily Kaldwin's abilities with Royal Protector Corvo Attano's signature powers to create any custom combo of multiple powers that you can imagine.

BioWare is apparently focusing on their efforts on optimizing Mass Effect: Andromeda for PC and Sony's new 4K-ready PlayStation 4 Pro instead of thinking about enhancements on Microsoft's upcoming "monster" native 4K Project Scorpio console.

Although Microsoft's next-generation Project Scorpio Xbox console will release in holiday 2017 and deliver 6TFLOPs of performance to usher in a "new era of 4K gaming," devs like BioWare haven't even begun the planning process for game upgrades and enhancements on the console.

That could signify something specific: Project Scorpio devkits aren't ready because AMD has yet to ship its Zen CPU and Vega GPU Raven Ridge APU combo that should power Project Scorpio, or it might mean that Microsoft isn't handing out scaled emulation devkits to anyone outside of its first-party studios.

Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid now officially supports Vulkan and OpenGL 4.5 APIs in its new customized OS.

The Khronos Group has certified the Nintendo Switch as conformant to the Vulkan 1.0, OpenGL 4.5 and OpenGL ES 3.2 graphics APIs for modern high-efficiency graphics. The Switch's OS is formally called the "Nintendo OS," and meets the Vulkan CTS 1.0.1.0 requirements.

As NVIDIA officially confirmed the Switch will use a highly customized Tegra processor, possibly a second-gen 20nm Maxwell iteration or a brand new 16nm FinFET Pascal variant, the inclusion of modern API support isn't exactly a surprise. The Nintendo Switch wasn't found conformant to any other Khronos Group APIs, including OpenCL.

Red Dead Redemption 2 will focus on three playable protagonists, just like GTA V, according to an insider source with a proven track record.

Past rumors predicted that Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 would have a multi-perspective singleplayer campaign, and now a source corroborates this detail. According to the source, who posted up a forum post on Fireden, RDR2 will have three playable main characters that were part of John Marston's former gang, but Marston won't be one of them. Rumors also hint that famous gunslingers of the Old West will be in the game.

The game's massive new online mode, which is touted to feature a "brand new kind multiplayer experience," won't be available when the game launches, and will take a few months to release just like GTA Online.

Latest reports indicate Nintendo's new Switch console-and-handheld hybrid will have dramatically varying performance across its two different modes: mobile handheld and docked console play. Despite this obvious GPU performance disparity, Nintendo can still deliver on its promise that the Switch can hit "console quality gaming while on-the-go."

New Switch patents revealed that the system will scale its GPU and CPU power while in handheld mode, and only hit its full clock speed perf while docked and tethered to a steady power source.

Up until now we didn't know what those GPU and CPU clock speeds would be: as it turns out, the Switch halves its GPU speeds to just 302.7MHz while in portable mode, and only hits 768MHz while docked. This GPU drop is to improve battery life and thermals. We also know that the Switch's 6.2-inch tablet will be 720p instead of the full 1080p rendered when the Switch is docked. With that kind of dramatic disparity, how can Nintendo possibly create the illusion of truly seamless switching?

We have recently reported that Nintendo's new Switch hybrid system will have variable CPU and GPU speeds in its docked and on-the-go form-factor modes, but now we may have some exact clock speeds, revealing the GPU speeds will apparently take the biggest hit in portable mobile mode.

Although the Nintendo Switch is marketed as a swappable, dual-factor system that can seamlessly transform back and forth from a console into a handheld, it appears the system will be considerably more powerful when its docked for console play versus on-the-go. We reaffirmed this in our coverage of Nintendo's latest Switch patents, which clearly state the CPU and GPU would be scaled with variable performance across the Switch's two different form factors, with more perf being relegated to the Switch while it's docked to a power source.

Nintendo has said the Switch is a "home console first and foremost," and with Eurogamer's latest CPU and GPU clock speed reports, that statement rings with absolute truth.