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LG's 2021 OLED TV lineup starts at $1,299
LG has unveiled pricing for its 2021 OLED TV lineup, and it starts at $1,299 for the A1. Expect to pay considerably more for the C1 and G1, though.
LG slowly starts rolling out its 2021 OLED and LCD 4K TVs
LG's 2021 4K and 8K TVs are starting to roll out. This year the LCD includes a QNED line with Mini LED tech and the OLED TVs are getting cheaper than ever.
LG's 2021 TVs ship with Google Stadia and a game optimizer
LG's 2021 TVs will include Google Stadia and an optimizer that can fine-tune the picture for specific game genres.
APB: Reloaded coming to PS4 and Xbox One in Q2 2015
Last fall we heard that APB: Reloaded was reportedly working on bringing the crime spree MMO to consoles but was struggling with the companies to make that happen. Fortunately, it seems as though all of the details have been paved out, as APB is gearing up for its console debut in the latter part of the second quarter of this year. APB: Reloaded will be coming to both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as a free-to-play title, although it will require Xbox owners to be part of the Xbox Live Gold service. The console adaptation is being handled by a joint effort between Reloaded Games, Deep Silver, and The Workshop. The Workshop CEO Peter Akemann says that the title will shine on the new hardware: "Because APB is such a technically complex game, featuring thousands of destructible objects and heavily customized players and vehicles in every scene, we are thrilled to help make APB a reality on these brand new high performance hardware platforms." To date, APB has had five million PC downloads since 2011. [Source: Reloaded Games press release]
The Daily Grind: Why aren't more studios investing in post-apocalyptic MMOs?
Some days it makes my heart so very sad that Fallen Earth stands virtually alone in the field of "classic" post-apocalyptic MMO settings. I love that game dearly and wish I had more time to actually play it, but I wish even more that it had a bigger studio and budget to go with its wide aspirations. I fear it is already slipping away from us. I was among the many desperately hoping for a Fallout MMO, but it seems as though those hopes were in vain. And out of all of the Kickstarter MMOs that I see, none seems to have gone the Mad Max route. So why do you think that more studios aren't investing in (non-zombie) post-apocalyptic MMOs -- and what would you like to see in that genre? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
APB: Reloaded is working on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ports
The resurrected APB: Reloaded is about to see if the console generation will embrace this cops vs. crooks title even more than the PC crowd. Game N Guide reports that Reloaded Games announced that both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ports are being designed for the game. The studio said that it's aiming for a mid-2015 release but is struggling with both Microsoft and Sony, as those companies don't want players to be able to bring over created content without paying for it on the console platforms. Bjorn Book-Larsson said that the studio is seeing "incredible resistance from platform owners." In other words, Reloaded Games would like APB to be truly cross-platform, whereas Microsoft and Sony would want the ports to be isolated within those consoles for financial gain.
Petition to memorialize Robin Williams in World of Warcraft allegedly gets Blizzard's attention
Everyone is talking today about the passing of the great comedian Robin Williams, and while it certainly is sad for those of us who grew up loving his TV and movie work, we're also celebrating his legacy and learning a lot about his life. For instance, did you know that Williams was an avid video gamer who spent quite a bit of time in World of Warcraft under an anonymous name? One fan did and thought that a great way to remember Williams would be to add him into World of Warcraft as an NPC. Thus he started a Change.org petition earlier today to do just that. With over 10,000 signatures added since then, the movement apparently caught the attention of Blizzard. "An amazing development has just happened," the petition author added in an update. "Celestalon has seen the petition and has been quoted as saying, 'We're taking care of it.'" Robin Williams is being memorialized in other MMOs as well. One player took the above screenshot from APB, noting how a fellow gamer created and uploaded the in-game poster as a tribute to the man. [Update: The official WoW Twitter account just tweeted, ".@robinwilliams Thank you. You gave us so much joy in our lives, and we hope you enjoyed your time in our world. We'll see you in-game."]
APB update pwns cheaters and creates quicker matchups
APB: Reloaded has moved beyond merely shaking a fist at cheaters to waging war on them. Today, Reloaded Games released its Open Conflict patch that contains the much-vaunted "FairFight" technology that monitors for illicit behavior and nips it in the bud on the spot. This system also publicly shames hackers and botters as they are banned so that the entire server can witness their downfall. Open Conflict also contains cloud saves for character settings and a new matchmaking mode that lumps people together based on availability instead of skill. [Source: Reloaded Games press release]
APB shames cheaters, talks usage and purchasing stats
APB Reloaded's latest dev blog post details the implementation of cheat detector FairFight into the MMO shooter. The update also reveals some pretty interesting stats related to cheaters as well as the game's overall performance. "The number of cheaters who log in to the game stayed pretty constant around 1.2 percent of all players (some of which were re-rolls)," wrote GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson. Surprisingly, 60 percent of those cheaters were paying players. Book-Larsson says that only about 10 percent of APB's monthly unique players make new purchases in a given month, while 30 percent of players have made a purchase at some point during their account history. Book-Larsson goes on to say that APB is the 19th most-played game in the history of Steam, just ahead of Borderlands 2 and just behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Finally, GamersFirst has publicized a list of banned cheaters for the month of July, complete with player and clan names and various other account statistics.
Gadget Rewind 2008: T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream)
In 2005, a small Palo Alto-based mobile software company called Android Inc. was quietly folded into Google's growing empire. The acquisition led to the release of the company's first-ever "Google phone" three years later: the T-Mobile G1 (or HTC Dream as it was mostly known outside of the US). Google's philosophy for the G1 centered on one-click search and a rich web experience, and leveraging T-Mobile's 3G network was essential to its success. The G1 was also the first smartphone to run the open-source Android operating system and after just six months on the market, it earned a fifth-place spot amongst top-selling smartphones in the US.
Fallen Earth discusses the state of the game in June
The Outpost isn't just a new player-created town; it's also the first peek that players in Fallen Earth will have of Alpha County and how different the landscape there really is. A new development blog has just gone live discussing where the Outpost update is in terms of development, including why it's taken so long to get the update pushed to live. In short? Because during internal testing the area was shooting server stability to pieces, and the team had to step back and fix those issues. While the blog still doesn't offer a definitive date for the update, it does note that the server issues from before have largely been corrected at this point, so players can look forward to testing the content soon. While the team would prefer the update be live already, it won't take long to finish if testing goes well. Read more about the structure of the region itself in the official update.
Perfect World's Arc expanding to include Path of Exile and APB
Perfect World is making a strong play to establish Arc as a vital digital platform for gamers. The company announced today that Arc will be expanding to include several titles outside of the PWE brotherhood, including Path of Exile and APB: Reloaded. The announcement of Arc's embrace of third-party developers comes with the platform's transition to "fully live" status. PWE CEO Alan Chen hopes that this will make Arc a one-stop gaming experience: "Our goal is to make Arc the premiere destination for the best free-to-play online games for both our players and partners, and to achieve this by growing the platform with new games, a constant stream of content, and features specifically designed for the PC gaming audience."
Fallen Earth posts its update on development in May
If you're a Fallen Earth player eagerly awaiting the release of the Outpost (the player-built town originally meant for live implementation this month) you're going to have to wait a little longer. But you're not being forgotten, either. The latest development update states that while it's taken a while to even bring the new feature to the test server, the team is still hard at work testing all of the ways it interacts with other systems in the game, and it's still on its way. Additionally, this update reveals that another developer has joined the team. The Scapegoat is a systems developer who will be responsible for tweaking the game's skills and mutations, with a build and patch notes due to arrive on the test server very shortly. While it's still largely quiet for the post-apocalyptic game, players should be happy that there are still signs of life.
Fallen Earth nodes to get less 'willy-nilly'
Tired of node placement refusing to make a lick of common sense in Fallen Earth? There's a dev for that. Fallen Earth's new state of the game post for April has a word or two to say about how the team is moving around gathering nodes to fit the environment better. "What this will look like is an increase in hand-placed nodes that reflect the setting and environment better and fewer nodes scattered willy-nilly," said Producer Marie Croall. The post also talks about new armor suits and cosmetic gear recipes that are coming soon as part of the rewards for controlling the Outpost.
APB: Reloaded team details Unreal Engine upgrade
APB: Reloaded's Unreal Engine upgrade is detailed in the latest dev blog at GamersFirst. In it, we get word that progress is slow but steady as the current version (from 2008) needs to be stripped and rebuilt due to the custom-built additions made in the original engine. Think of it like when you have to manually update your mods every time World of Warcraft has a new patch. Although the latest version of Unreal will aid with performance and compatibility improvements, the Reloaded team says that you may not even notice much of a difference visuals-wise. GamersFirst hopes to roll the new upgrade out soon, although a release estimate is still to come. Check out the full dev blog for more details on the Unreal Engine upgrade.
Fallen Earth gives a sneak peek at its player-built town
The Fallen Earth team is hard at work on the next major update of the game, which will include a player-built town called the Outpost. In a new state of the game post, the devs show off a few of the structures in this town. "Since the plot for the area revolves around the Outsiders and GlobalTech, we wanted to take advantage of those groups' love of technology and give the buildings some high tech pieces as well as keeping the aged pre-fall feel," the devs wrote. The Outpost will be bigger and "more robust" than Citadel and should be hitting the live servers some time in May.
Field Journal: Picking up the pieces of Fallen Earth
I was introduced to Fallen Earth way back in the mists of time, around when I first started reading Massively. It was one of the earliest Choose My Adventures, and I was so impressed that I made my own account and joined in on the fun part of the way through. My character even made a few cameos in the column later on. I have a lot of fond memories of the game, and a significant part of that is due to the crafting system. There are some really good ideas in there, even if the execution has always been a bit flawed. Despite those flaws, I wouldn't trade my early days with the game for anything. Well, other than a better version of the same game.
Choose My Adventure: Back in the saddle again edition
Yeeehaw! Now that Mike has finished his ride, they're lettin' me back in the saddle for another round of rootin' tootin' Choose My Adventure fun! And the opportunity has come not a moment too soon: I've had my spurs on and been raring to go for weeks now. As you know, this ain't my first CMA rodeo, and I'm sure as shootin' excited for this next wild romp through a new world. Of course, I won't be doing this alone. This ain't a one-woman show, and you ain't just spectators. I'm the rider all right, but y'all actually have a hold of the reins and will be leading me through the adventures. I'll wrangle up some options each week, and y'all will make the choices for what we do, where we go, and how we get there. Our first choice: which game we're going to tame! I've corralled a herd of titles that ain't seen their time in the spotlight yet (or at least, not for a long, long time). We've got an assortment of breeds to choose from -- some I've the barest hint of experience with; with others, I've none at all. Look 'em over, size 'em up, and then tag the one you want us to spend our next six weeks in. Y'all have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 25th, to make your selection. Then we rope the winner and get this ride started.
Here's Fallen Earth's latest state-of-the-game
There's a brief state-of-the-game update now live on the Fallen Earth website. The devs are apparently hard at work on some new content as well as various improvements to existing stuff. The post mentions PvP keep adjustments, and more specifically tweaks that will shift the focus from player-vs.-door to player-vs.-player. The game's Outpost area also gets a mention. It's "staged content will give players more to explore as well as give [the devs] new ways to challenge and reward both group and solo activities.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
