Starfield Update 1.7.36 Out Now — Here’s What It Does

5 months 2 weeks ago

Bethesda has released a fresh update for Starfield, which brings the game up to version 1.7.36. It's the third update since Starfield came out at the beginning of September.

The update includes changes to Settings that allow for players to adjust their FOV (field of view) as well as some other performance and stability improvements. There’s not much else to the update, which makes modest changes to the space role-playing game.

Here are the Starfield update 1.7.36 patch notes in full:

GENERAL

  • FOV: Sliders are now available in Settings that allow players using first person or third person to adjust their FOV.

PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY

  • [PC ONLY] Improved stability for Intel Arc GPUs.
  • Various additional stability and performance improvements.

QUEST

  • Echoes of the Past: Addressed an issue where tunneling creatures could pick a location that would prevent progression.

“Thank you so much for your continued feedback and support of Starfield and we look forward to a future with you on this journey,” Bethesda said in a blog post.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Meta Quest 3 review impressions - one of VR gaming's best options

5 months 2 weeks ago

Head(sets) up, Readers. Due to a snafu with Meta's servers during the Quest 3 review window and a last minute embargo change, I've only been able to spend around five to six hours with the unit so far. This means the impressions below are based on those first few hours, rather than an extended play test with multiple titles. As you'll soon see, my initial thoughts are very positive but please bear in mind there is a chance I'll have missed some underlying issues that will only arise from longer sessions.

One of the first things you'll notice about the Quest 3, if you're upgrading from a Quest 2, is its size. The new headset is 40 percent slimmer than the Quest 2 and this means that, when worn, the Quest 3 eliminates one of my biggest bugbears of its predecessor - the downward drag on your face. Before I started using a replacement head strap (the excellent BOBOVR M2 Pro) I found the Quest 2 so uncomfortable to wear for extended periods that I avoided using it whenever I could. Even with the basic material strap that's included with the Quest 3 however, the difference in comfort between the pair is huge. The smaller size means it's better balanced on your face and because of this the headset doesn't slip when you pull off exaggerated physical movements like limboing under bullets in Pistol Whip.

Author
Ian Higton

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Meta Quest 3 Review – I Can See Clearer Now

5 months 2 weeks ago

For any frustrations and confusion related to Meta (formerly Facebook) and whatever the Metaverse is, one consistent and more straightforward element of the company’s VR push is that from the beginning, its hardware has been pretty solid. The headsets have not been without their growing pains, but the path from Rift to Quest has been generally smooth, and the iterations have always added worthy improvements. Meta Quest 3 continues along that path to deliver what is, by a large margin, my favorite VR headset, but it doesn’t fix all the problems the medium continues to face.

Comfortability And Visuals

Wearing Meta Quest 3 is reasonably comfortable. The straps are easy to adjust and allow you to make the headset surprisingly tight against your face. This is good for blocking out light and moving your head quickly without needing to adjust, but if you’re not careful the tension can lead to headaches. I am grateful for the option to wear the headset tightly, as specific positioning over your eyes is crucial. I would rather have the ability to wear the headset too tight than it hang loosely on my head. That would lead to a different and worse type of nausea.

Author
Kyle Hilliard

Here's everything the GamesIndustry.biz team is doing at EGX 2023

5 months 2 weeks ago

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This week, EGX returns to London's Excel Centre – and GamesIndustry.biz will be there in full force.

As always, we will be hosting the returning Investment Summit in the venue's Platinum Suite on Thursday, October 12, plus four days of presentations and portfolio reviews in the newly interactive GI Academy Zone on the show floor.

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Author
James Batchelor

RuneScape ends Hero Pass following pay-to-win criticisms

5 months 2 weeks ago

Developer Jagex has announced its controversial Hero Pass will be removed from RuneScape following the end of its first season in December.

Hero Pass was described by Jagex as an "always-on reward system" and it was introduced into RuneScape last month. It was heavily criticised by players for pay-to-win elements such as XP buffs, which prompted Jagex to temporarily roll back the update shortly after Hero Pass launched.

Following feedback from a player survey, Jagex announced Hero Pass will end once the current season, Underworld, finishes on 4th December.

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Liv Ngan

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The Witcher's Doug Cockle and FF16's Ben Starr are launching a D&D campaign

5 months 2 weeks ago

There's a talented new D&D group on the horizon - including Eurogamer's very own Aoife Wilson! - who are set to begin their adventures this very week.

Natural Six will introduce themselves via a live show on Friday at EGX 2023 - the UK games event run by Eurogamer's parent company Reedpop. You can watch there or tune in online at 6pm UK time.

Partying up alongside Aoife will be Doug Cockle, best known as Geralt from The Witcher series, and Benn Starr, who played Final Fantasy 16 frontman Clive.

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Tom Phillips

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Ubisoft says it's "on the right path" to recover from "misconduct crisis"

5 months 2 weeks ago

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Ubisoft's chief people officer reports that employee surveys show the Assassin's Creed publisher is "on the right path" to recover from the wave of abuse and harassment allegations it faced in 2020.

Speaking at the inaugural GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on September 27, 2023, Anika Grant reflected on the changes that have been made since she joined in the wake of those allegations, when Ubisoft was "navigating a misconduct crisis."

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Author
James Batchelor

Here's the full GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit London 2023 line-up

5 months 2 weeks ago

The GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit London takes place Thursday alongside the EGX consumer show, and we can now reveal the full schedule.

TikTok, Square Enix, London Venture Partners, Xbox, UK Games Fund, Aream & Co, Hiro Capital, Maverick Games and Kowloon Nights are all set to speak and meeting with developers across the day.

Tickets are still available, and start at £45 for developers (+ VAT). Each ticket includes an Industry Pass to the EGX consumer show (all four days), plus lunch on Thursday and access to the MeetToMatch meeting system. Attendees can arrange meetings on both Thursday and Friday during the show.

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Author
Christopher Dring

The 10 Most Anticipated Pokémon TCG Cards From Paradox Rift

5 months 2 weeks ago

If you both played the Pokémon Scarlet or Violet game, and follow the Pokémon Trading Card Game, you’ll have noticed that the first four sets have entirely omitted the denizens of the the Great Crater of Paldea. These either ancient or futuristic Pokémon (dependent upon whether you played Scarlet or Violet) are…

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John Walker

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Ask Sam Lake from Remedy a question about Alan Wake 2 or anything else

5 months 2 weeks ago

Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake will be at EGX this weekend, talking about the return of Alan Wake. He'll be on the EGX Theatre stage from 3pm BST on Friday 13th.

To coincide with him being at the show, I'm going to be interviewing him. But because Victoria has recently done such a thorough job of both previewing Alan Wake 2, and talking to Sam Lake about it, a window of opportunity has opened to ask questions submitted by you.

I will have my own questions to ask, of course, but I will happily move aside for thoughtful questions or funny ones - I do have a soft spot for funny ones.

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Author
Robert Purchese

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New Report Makes Disturbing Allegations Against The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Developer

5 months 2 weeks ago

A fresh report on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment has made a number of disturbing allegations about the company, including reportedly enforcing uncompensated overtime, allegedly trying to pay staff below minimum wage, and a toxic work environment cultivated by an alleged abusive leadership.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is one of the biggest video game flops of 2023. IGN’s review, which returned a 4/10, said it was “filled with dull stealth, bad platforming, and a pointless story, and does little to justify why anyone should take the time to play it”.

Following Gollum's disastrous release, during which it was panned by critics and players and met with low sales, Daedalic Entertainment shut down its internal development arm and cancelled a follow-up The Lord of the Rings game, codenamed "It's Magic". This resulted in layoffs totalling 25 staff.

Now, a 40-minute video from German publication Game Two, titled Why Gollum Had to Fail, alleges significant failings at both Daedalic and publisher Nacon, having spoken with 32 people who worked on the game. “There was an atmosphere of fear,” one anonymous source said. IGN has contacted both Daedalic and Nacon for comment, although it's worth noting denial statements were issued to Game Two and shown in the video.

Game Two reveals the production budget for Gollum was around 15 million euros, or $15.9 million. This was an incredibly low amount for a supposed triple-A The Lord of the Rings video game, and factored into many of its failings.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Over 6,000 games industry jobs lost in 2023 so far

5 months 2 weeks ago

Over 6,100 gaming jobs have been lost so far over the past year due to layoffs and studio closures, according to new data.

As spotted by GamesBeat, technical artist Farhan Noor has been tracking layoff numbers since the beginning of 2023 on videogameslayoffs.com.

The tracked information includes the estimated number of employees let go, which some companies have not disclosed so the actual number of jobs lost is likely much higher.

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Author
Sophie McEvoy

Screenshot Saturday Mondays: An infinite city and a lovely froggy

5 months 2 weeks ago

Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter's #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, my eye has been caught by a retro-styled infinite city, a dramatic spellcasting, dinosaurs, and heaps more. Check out these attractive and interesting indie games!

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Author
Alice O'Connor

16Bit Sensation: Another Layer Relies on Nostalgia

5 months 2 weeks ago

16Bit Sensation First Impressions

16Bit Sensation: Another Layer caught me at possibly the most opportune time. I’m 23, working my first job out of college, and I find myself wishing every day that things would just go back to the way they used to be. Before mediocre mobile gacha games ruled the industry, there were bishojo games. They were titles filled with fun narratives, heart, soul, and lots of beautiful girls to date. Despite me being biased, considering my love for the 1990s anime art style and classic visual novels, the premise of this show grabbed me from the start as a nostalgic struggling artist trying to make ends meet.

The first episode opens with a 4:3 aspect ratio shot of the main protagonist Konoha Akisato totally freaking out over having been transported back in time to Akihabara in 1992. If I were her, I would probably warm up to that reality swiftly. I miss Japan, especially the Akihabara from 12 years ago. Veteran bishojo otaku might be scoffing at me as they read this, considering I wasn’t even alive in the 1990s, but I'll sing my praises of the period nevertheless.) The circumstances Konoha is thrown into at least seem better than continuing her current job as a sub artist at a lousy male-dominated company that rejects her every suggestion and only makes low-budget hypnosis games to try to make a quick sale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YJCODdfSV0&ab_channel=AnimeHype%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC

Author
Lauren Palmer

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7 Ways Bungie Could Improve Destiny 2’s Stagnant Seasonal Passes

5 months 2 weeks ago

These days, battle and season passes have become quite common in Live Service games, and Destiny 2 is no exception to this rule. However, one issue does exist within the implementation of seasonal passes in Bethesda’s flagship title: They haven’t yet fundamentally changed for the better. Season after season, year after year, Destiny 2 players are subject to the same tired seasonal pass structure of meager materials, stale bonuses, and a pathetic number of cosmetics.

At a time when the Destiny 2 community’s faith in Bungie is low, an overhaul to a tired system in good faith could dramatically improve Bungie’s perception. With that said, let’s dive into 7 ways Bungie could improve Destiny 2’s stagnant season passes.

Author
Ali Taha

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Super Mario Bros. Wonder: The Final Preview

5 months 2 weeks ago

I’m a huge fan of Super Mario Odyssey and I’ve long been disappointed that Nintendo still hasn’t expanded on its winning formula. Despite Breath of the Wild, which arrived in the same year, getting not only DLC but also a fully-fledged sequel, Mario Odyssey’s unique approach seems like it has largely been left by the wayside. Super Mario Bros. Wonder, though, feels positioned to fill this void. And everything I’ve played and seen so far scratches the innovative itch that I’ve come to expect from my favourite platforming plumber.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a traditional 2D, side-scrolling Mario adventure, more inline with the original trilogy and Super Mario World than its more experimental 3D relatives. But unlike its 2D seniors, Wonder has a new, renewed emphasis on the stage, bringing its worlds to life with ridiculous levels of charm and, yes, I’m going to say it, wonder. Key to this are the Wonder Flowers, collectibles that alter the landscape and massively affect how you progress through the levels. During my hour of hands-on time, I’ve so far seen stage-destroying bull charges, sentient and rideable warp pipes, and a torrential downpour of super stars.

But it’s not just the environment that Wonder Flowers can alter, with the character’s bodies and the player's control scheme up for grabs, too. Stands outs from my play session included desperately trying to control the direction of an inflated Toadette by furious flapping my arms, and having adorably limited jump capabilities after being morphed into a stealthy, spike-walking Goomba. My taste of these changes was small, but the implications of variety was clear.

Author
Dale Driver

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Super Mario Bros. Wonder really is filled with secrets and surprises

5 months 2 weeks ago

There's a moment early on in Super Mario Wonder that genuinely surprised me. I laughed out loud. I was shocked, almost scandalised. I had run up to a pipe, right, these staples of every Mario game reaching back into the series first appearance. I thought I knew the deal. Some pipes are just obstacles. But some are hollow, and you can drop down inside them to find new areas.

Not this one. This one - whisper it - moved. As I reached it, I must have pushed against it, and the pipe slid across the ground. I know, right? I am still getting over it.

Super Mario Wonder has a lot of stuff like this. I can't remember the last Mario game that made me laugh as much, or the last Mario game that made me question basic Mario lore, if such a thing exists. We're back in 2D Mario territory - a series of games that, over the last few outings, have perhaps unfairly gotten a reputation for playing things a bit safe. The theme this time around is secrets and surprises, though. And gosh, does Wonder deliver. A pipe you can push across the ground. Mercy.

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Christian Donlan

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Genius Baldur’s Gate 3 Player Uses Sheep Magic to Recruit the Evil Minthara During Good Playthrough

5 months 2 weeks ago

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game jam-packed with consequences. Make this decision here, expect to see its effect there. It had been thought that recruiting one particularly evil character during the first act of the game was incompatible with a good playthrough, but one genius player came up with a workaround — using sheep magic.

Baldur’s Gate 3 spoilers are ahead. Will you press on, desperate for knowledge, or turn back, safe from the horror that awaits? [Spoken in the voice of the Narrator, for emphasis].

Let’s start with some background. Minthara is a ruthless Drow encountered in Act 1 and found in the Shattered Sanctum, inside the Goblin Camp. She’s one of three Goblin leaders, and is desperate to assault the nearby druid Grove, which the player can choose to protect or attack, as well as a few options in between.

If you side with Minthara in Act 1, you may recruit her later in the game. But siding with Minthara means committing a few unspeakable horrors. For a start, you must betray the druids and the tieflings in the grove, killing some or all of them. Do this and both Wyll and Karlach permanently leave your party, with Gale close to doing so as well unless you're able to convince him otherwise. There is no way to avoid this exodus.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Report details internal problems during The Lord of the Rings: Gollum development

5 months 2 weeks ago

An investigative report into the development of commercial and critical failure The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has revealed a number of struggles faced by developer Daedalic Entertainment.

Gollum released in a rather sorry state in May earlier this year, and was heavily criticised for a lack of polish and technical issues. A statement attributed to Daedalic Entertainment and released on its social media one day after release apologised for the game's quality and stated the studio's commitment to improving the game with patches.

The report from German outlet Game Two was created after interviewing 32 former and current employees at Daedalic, as well as receiving statements from the company itself, on the development of Gollum.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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New Starfield Mod Makes Crafting Easier Than Ever

5 months 2 weeks ago

One of the most common complaints you’ll see about Starfield is how unwieldy the user interface can be. Crafting was one of the key areas in the game which was made more painful by this, but for PC players at least, that’s now a thing of the past thanks to a new mod that vastly improves the workbench experience in Bethesda’s latest RPG.

Arriving not long after Starfield‘s release, the StarUI mod proved an instant success with players who wanted a cleaner, more modern interface than the one which the game launched with. That initial mod, StarUI Inventory, improved the inventory menu. Later in September, another mod — StarUI HUD — made similar changes to the game’s heads up display, allowing for more detailed loot menus and the ability to recolor your HUD widgets such as the radar.

Author
James Crosby

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If Anthem is the "anti-BioWare game", then James Ohlen is correcting the balance

5 months 2 weeks ago

Baldur’s Gate II set the model, and I obviously loved that model,” says James Ohlen. “But there were a ton of people at BioWare who didn’t like it.” During leadership meetings over the course of the Canadian designer’s 22 years at the RPG studio, he’d sometimes feel totally outnumbered when talking about the importance of story. “Game developers don’t get into the industry to create stories, they get into the industry to create games,” he says. “And so there’s this conflict between game developers and story - my entire career it's been a constant fight.”

Ohlen picked his side early. He was telling BioWare stories even before he joined the company. The meeting of Minsc and Boo, one of the most enduring partnerships in PC gaming, came about in a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons game he ran as a teenager. Then a comic book store manager, he took advantage of his premises to guide no fewer than three concurrent D&D groups through their campaigns. “I didn’t really have much of a life outside of Dungeons & Dragons,” he says.

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Author
Jeremy Peel

Update: CD Projekt Red Issues Statement On Its Devs Forming A Union

5 months 2 weeks ago

CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077 The Witcher 3 New Union Formed Poland

Update, 10/10/23:

Yesterday, following news that developers at Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 studio CD Projekt Red have formed a union, Game Informer reached out to the company to ask if it had a comment or statement on it. Game Informer also asked if CDPR plans to voluntarily recognize the union. 

Here is the statement Game Informer received from a CDPR spokesperson:


"We have been informed about the intention to form a trade union covering gamedev companies, including our company. We will act in accordance with law and comply with legal obligations that might arise from that situation.  "At the same time, it's worth mentioning that the voice of RED's team is already represented by the RED Team Representatives (RTR), which is a democratically elected body representing all employees and independent of the management board. We have been working with them for over two years now and we will continue to do so to keep our environment transparent, safe, and healthy." 

The original story continues below...

Original story, 10/9/23:

Author
Wesley LeBlanc

CD Projekt staff form union after layoffs - and want everybody in the industry to join

5 months 2 weeks ago

There's a side mission in Cyberpunk 2077 that involves abducting a notorious union-breaker. One wonders if any of the people who worked on that have joined the union founded by CD Projekt RED employees this month. The union is part of the larger Polish worker's organisation OZZ Inicjatywa Pracownicza, and comes in response to CD Projekt's firing around 100 employees in July due to "overstaffing". Its membership is anonymous and open to people in the industry who aren't employed by the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio, but are thinking about forming a union in their own workplace.

"We started talking about unionizing after the 2023 wave of layoffs when 9% of Reds (that is roughly 100 people) were let go," reads an official FAQ from the group. "This event created a tremendous amount of stress and insecurity, affecting our mental health and leading to the creation of this union in response. Having a union means having more security, transparency, better protection, and a stronger voice in times of crisis."

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Author
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

This fan-made Tomb Raider 2 side-scroller is a brilliant tribute to a brilliant game

5 months 2 weeks ago

A skilled Tomb Raider fan has reimagined the series' second game as a 3D side-scroller.

Created by Delca, who is also working on a Tomb Raider Legend demake, this side-scrolling adventure sees Lara making her way around the likes of Venice, the Great Wall of China and, of course, Croft Manor as she searches for the Dagger of Xian. However, this time she can only travel backwards and forwards.

It is a rather incredible recreation, and one that clearly has a lot of love attached to it. As I said in my headline, it is a brilliant tribute to a brilliant game.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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PS Plus Extra October Games Leaked

5 months 2 weeks ago

Reliable PlayStation Plus leaker billbil-kun has revealed the next batch of games coming to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalogue in October.

This partial leak reveals eight of the games set to join PS Plus Extra on October 17. They are:

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Call of Duty Fans Are Already Worried About Cheating in the Modern Warfare 3 Beta

5 months 2 weeks ago

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 held a PlayStation-exclusive beta over the weekend, and already fans are worried about cheaters.

Twitter user @Duqysss posted a number of clips, below, showing apparent wall hacks and aim bots at play in the PlayStation 5 version of Modern Warfare 3. The videos are damning, showing clear cheating.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Assassin's Creed Mirage players are modding the game to turn off its distracting chromatic aberration

5 months 2 weeks ago

Assassin's Creed Mirage might take Ubisoft's historical stabathon series back to basics, but there's a newer visual effect which players want rid of.

The game's visual chromatic aberration effect is switched on by default and there's no way to turn it off - despite it being pronounced and sometimes quite distracting in certain areas.

One of the first things I did when starting to play Mirage was look for some kind of slider or toggle to tune the effect (or just disable it completely). Alas, one does not exist.

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Author
Tom Phillips

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The Talos Principle 2's demo is a "specially tailored" intro to its gorgeous sci-fi puzzles

5 months 2 weeks ago

Fans of grassy stone megastructures, winding scholarly backstory, and dinky robot guys are in for a treat this week, as Croteam and Devolver Digital have released a demo for The Talos Principle 2, offering a "specially tailored" assortment of first-person puzzles and philosophical musings ahead of the game's November release.

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Author
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Baldur's Gate 3 player devises way to recruit evil companion on a good playthrough by turning her into a sheep

5 months 2 weeks ago

If you've been playing Baldur's Gate 3, you're likely to have missed out on a companion or two - as making certain decisions can affect who's available. Heavy spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3 are included in this article.

One of the most missable companions is Minthara, who appears in Act 1 of the game. In normal circumstances, recruiting her means siding with the goblins and attacking Emerald Grove along with the refugee Tieflings that are staying there.

However, this comes with some significant consequences - Halsin will refuse to help you later on in the game, and Karlach will be unavailable as a companion. Unless you're Taiwanese player pao870111, who came up with a way to recruit Minthara in a morally good playthrough without the use of mods.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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This The Last of Us bread sculpture brings a whole new meaning to yeast infection

5 months 2 weeks ago

A bakery in the States has used its artisanal skills to create a The Last of Us Clicker out of bread.

Known as The Last of Crust, this sculpture by One House Bakery was cooked up by mother daughter duo Catherine and Hannalee Pervan as part of the Downtown Benicia Main Street's annual Scarecrow Contest.

As reported by Eater San Francisco (via IGN), this event has also seen the skilled twosome come up with a range of Star Wars-themed crusty creations, with Pan Solo, Pain-dough-lorian, Baby Dough-da, and the Pandroid all gracing the competition in previous years.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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Mass Layoffs at Cyberpunk 2077 Developer CD Projekt Prompt New Union Formation

5 months 2 weeks ago

A new Polish game developer union has formed following three rounds of layoffs at The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt.

Polish Gamedev Workers Union was founded by current CD Projekt staff, gameplay QA analyst Paweł Myszka and gameplay programmer Lev Ki, aiming to represent all those working in game development in Poland.

They said they started talking about unionising after the 2023 wave of layoffs that saw nine percent of CD Projekt Red staff (roughly 100 people) let go.

“This event created a tremendous amount of stress and insecurity, affecting our mental health and leading to the creation of this union in response,” Polish Gamedev Workers Union said. “Having a union means having more security, transparency, better protection, and a stronger voice in times of crisis.

“The above shows how employers tend to view their interests to be in conflict with those of their employees. While employees are the ones creating value in this arrangement, they lack any decision power in company-structure-related matters. That is why we need to organise to enter those situations on equal footing.

“We believe that the mass lay-offs are a danger to the gamedev industry and we believe that unionising is a way for us to preserve the industry’s potential.”

This event created a tremendous amount of stress and insecurity, affecting our mental health and leading to the creation of this union in response.

In a statement issued to IGN, CD Projekt said:

"We have been informed about the intention to form a trade union covering gamedev companies, including our company. We will act in accordance with law and comply with legal obligations that might arise from that situation.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Wargroove 2 Review – Missing a Beat

5 months 2 weeks ago

Wargroove 2 on Nintendo Switch

Strategy games have not always been at the forefront of players’ minds. After all, when the original Wargroove was released in 2019, it was widely lauded for bringing back the turn-based tactical genre that had been missing for an extended period of time. Now, Wargroove 2 arrives in a market full of other strong competitors like the resurgent Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp and Fire Emblem Engage, building on its foundations and delivering a robust, solid experience that will keep fans happy albeit with some niggling issues.

Author
Jake Su

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Meet the Starfield Player Who Surveyed All 1,000 Planets

5 months 2 weeks ago

Ahead of the launch of Starfield, Bethesda chief Todd Howard said there were over 1,000 planets to explore in the science fiction role-playing game. "From barren but resource-heavy ice balls, to Goldilocks planets with life,” Howard said during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase in June. “And not just this system, but over 100 systems — over 1,000 planets, all open for you to explore."

It was a number that would go on to dominate pre-release discussion around Starfield. How could any game have so many planets for the player to fully explore? How could such a thing be fun? Bethesda's answer came in the form of procedural generation. Not all 1,000 planets would be hand-crafted by developers at Bethesda. A small portion would be. In fact, Howard would go on to reveal only 10% of Starfield’s planets would have life on them.

Still, over 1,000 planets. It was one hell of a number, a number that sounds fantastic in an advert. Starfield is a game so vast that exploring all those planets would take any right-thinking player an age to do. Now, a month after Starfield came out, one player has done it.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Over 100 Avalanche Studios staff unionise

5 months 2 weeks ago

Over 100 employees at Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios have unionised.

As reported by IGN, team members have joined the Swedish trade union Unionen, and have begun bargaining over their contract.

Negotiations began last week and are ongoing, and include employees who are part of the Sveriges Ingenjörer union.

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Author
Sophie McEvoy

CD Projekt staff form union for Polish developers

5 months 2 weeks ago

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A new union for game developers has formed in Poland following three rounds of layoffs at Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red over the summer.

Związek Pracowników Branży Gier, or Polish Gamedev Workers Union, aims to represent "all professions and people working in the game development sector in Poland."

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Author
James Batchelor