Fortnite Battle Royale state of development update touches upon team killing, new shooting model, inventory revamp, more

Epic Games has provided a state of development update for Fortnite Battle Royale.

A roadmap for Fortnite’s Battle Royal mode was posted yesterday by Epic, covering development plans for playing with friends, team killing, a new shooting model, inventory revamp, post-match stats, new cosmetics, and more.

First off, the team is finally addressing the issue of team killing in a manner conducive to those who report instances. While action is taken based on player reports, it fails to inform players whether action was taken or not. This is being remedied and recently, the Fortnite team enhanced its search for “current and past team killers,” and issued numerous warnings and bans.

To further combat the issue, Epic is working on “better analytical models,” in order to weed out the worst offenders. It’s long-term goal is to pair players with other who have a good reputation.

Currently, the development team is also working to make its existing social features easier to find friends, and to play again with prior partners. It is also working on the ability to import friends lists from other social networks.

Players can also expect a new shooting model which is currently being playtested. It will hopefully remove random bullet spread while aiming down sights. The goal is to improve the model while “maintaining the usefulness of building cover while under fire.” And, without changing engagement distances or game flow. A test client and servers to provide feedback on the mechanic is slated for December.

A large revamp is in the works for the current inventory, which will provide a cleaner interface with easier inventory management.

New points of interest are being added to the map to help fill some of the empty spaces and introduce more gameplay variety. This will be accomplished by updating existing areas with varied art for flora and the landscape.

Other improvements in the works include full remodels for gliders, pickaxes, and characters. The revamp will add more unique details, while still preserving the original mesh. There are also plenty of changes and improvements in development for Battle Royale’s audio.

Down the road, players can also expect more items and weapons for Battle Royale in addition to the recently added Launch Pad, Silenced SMG, Slurp Juice, Smoke Grenades and more with Fortnite patch 1.9.1.

Custom games, performance over visual fidelity and badges and medals were also touched upon.

Finally, ongoing work continues on limited-time modes (slated for December), server performance optimizations, extensive map streaming, aim assist behavior adjustments, the matchmaking system, and plenty more.

Head over to the official post on Epic’s website for changes coming to Fortnite Battle Royale.

Fortnite Battle Royale state of development update touches upon team killing, new shooting model, inventory revamp, more posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Grab Until Dawn, Fallout 4, Prey, Yooka-Laylee, others through the EU PS Store ‘2 for €30’ promotion

The EU PS Store is hosting a 2 for €30 promotion.

Starting today and running through December 21, the European end of the PlayStation Store has a two for €30 promotion in offer.

Some of the titles included in the deal are The Last of Us Remastered, Fallout 4, The Last Guardian, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Wipeout Omega Collection and plenty more.

Also, until December 22, there are a number of PS Plus-exclusive discounts available for titles such as Elite Dangerous, Dying Light, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, and others.

Here’s the complete list of games you can grab in the 2 for €30, or your regional equivalent.

• 7 Days to Die
• Alien: Isolation – The Collection
• ArcaniA – The Complete Tale
• Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag – Standard Edition
• Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
• Assassin’s Creed Unity
• Batman: Return to Arkham
• Broken Sword 5 – the Serpent’s Curse
• Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku!
• Constructor Game
• DIVINITY ORIGINAL SIN – ENHANCED EDITION
• Danganronpa 1/2 Reload
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
• Darksiders: Fury’s Collection – War and Death
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth – Digital Edition
• EARTH’S DAWN
• Fallout 4
• Far Cry 4
• Far Cry Primal
• Firefighters – The Simulation
• FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
• Forestry 2017 – The Simulation
• Get Even
• God of War 3 Remastered
• Gravity Rush 2
• Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-
• Industry Giant 2
• J-Stars Victory VS+ Digital Edition
• Killing Floor 2
• Mordheim: City of the Damned
• PaRappa the Rapper, LocoRoco, Patapon Remaster Collection
• Prey
• Rabi-Ribi
• Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul
• Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter
• Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom
• SteinsGate 0
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS 14
• Tales of Zestiria – Digital Standard Edition
• The Last Guardian
• The Last of Us Remastered
• The Order: 1886
• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs
• Trackmania Turbo
• Until Dawn
• Valhalla Hills – Definitive Edition
• WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship
• WipEout Omega Collection
• Yooka-Laylee
• Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
• Zombie Army Trilogy

If you head over to the EU PS Blog, you can look over the list of games with PS Plus discounts.

Grab Until Dawn, Fallout 4, Prey, Yooka-Laylee, others through the EU PS Store ‘2 for €30’ promotion posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Final Fantasy 15: here’s three minutes of Episode Ignis and a look at his battle with Noctis

A look at Final Fantasy 15: Episode Ignis has been released in the form of two new videos.

Final Fantasy 15: Episode Ignis releases in a couple of weeks, and Square Enix has released two videos for the DLC.

The first video provides a look at the three minutes of the episode’s opening, while the second features a look at the Ignis vs Noctis battle which takes place after completion of the story.

When Episode Ignis arrives on December 13, players will find it contains twice the cutscenes as Episode Prompto, and story playtime alone clocks in at around two hours.

As previously reported, once finished, the episode will unlock multiple endings depending on decisions made by Ignis.

The day before Episode Ignis drops, the December update for Final Fantasy 15 will be released. It will include Time Limited quests and an update to Final Fantasy 15: Comrades and the ability to swap between Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus during the main game.

Just as a reminder, in 2018 players will be graced with more Final Fantasy 15 content such as Episode Ardyn, and the ability to play as the main fellas in the Comrades multiplayer expansion. Plus, more Final Fantasy goodness is in the works for the franchise as a whole. Plus, the long-awaited PC version of FF15.

The December update will release on the 12th for Final Fantasy 15.

Final Fantasy 15: here’s three minutes of Episode Ignis and a look at his battle with Noctis posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Here’s a video of Resident Evil Revelations running on Switch

Just in case you’re wondering how this port holds up.

Of all the Resident Evil series, I have a particularly strong soft spot for Resident Evil Revelations. It’s pretty rare for an action game to keep me glued to a handheld console, since my 3DS was usually home to RPGs and other slow-paced things. Revelations got me, though. I’d put in some headphones and let its tense, episodic atmosphere wash over me – and for a while, it was actually my favourite Resident Evil game.

I was pumped when Revelations director Kōshi Nakanishi was tapped to driect Resident Evil 7 as well, and lo and behold – that ended up working out pretty well, with RE7 marked out as one the best games this year. It’s also my new favourite Resident Evil game. Revisiting Revelations feels right in the wake of 7, really, and the new Switch version of the game is a good way to do that.

So, how does it run? Well, you can find the slow-burn first chapter of the game in video form above, filled with story intrigue, a great soundtrack and a little bit of shooting. Everything runs pretty well, which is very much what you’d expect for a game that began life on the Nintendo 3DS. Revelations has since made its way to PC, PS3, 360, PS4 and Xbox One, and it’s off those high definition versions that this port is based.

You can tell the original source material was very low resolution indeed in some of the detail, heavily-segmented maps and the like, but it also feels like a pretty good fit for the Switch’s portable nature. The game is divided up into bite-sized episodic segments that fit handheld play, and if you’re one of the people for whom the Switch is primarily portable affair this feels like a great addition to such a library.

As well as Revelations the sequel is also included as part of this package, though it comes in the form of a separate download. This is a better version of the first game in pretty much every way, and since it began life on more fully-fledged consoles and not the 3DS it also has naturally better-looking visuals as a result.

While I don’t demo it in the video, both games come packing some really rather neat motion controls on Switch that are a great addition if you’re playing with joy-cons. It seriously works better than it has any right to. All told, the pair make up a pretty tasty package on the Switch – and you can see the performance for yourself above. I know what I’m doing on my next flight, at any rate…

Here’s a video of Resident Evil Revelations running on Switch posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Switch was one of the best-selling products online from mid-November through Cyber Monday

Switch did rather well over Black Friday weekend and into Cyber Monday, according to analysis from Adobe.

While Nintendo’s new console wasn’t on sale during the long holiday weekend, Switch was one of the hottest items on the market with online shoppers.

According to Adobe’s Digital Insights Initiatives, Nintendo Switch made the top selling products list starting as early as Veterans Day and through Cyber Monday. Matter of fact, it never left the top five.

On Veterans Day, November 11, the console came in fourth behind this year’s hot toy item, Hatchimals Colleggtibles. November 22, the day before Thanksgiving, it ranked third – again behind Hatchimals Colleggtibles. On this day, PlayStation VR came in fourth and Super Mario Odyssey fifth.

On Thanksgiving day, November 23, it was the best-selling product online and held the top spot the following day on Black Friday. Come Saturday, though, it came in fourth behind Xbox One X but was back in the top slot on Cyber Monday.

It isn’t surprising, considering Switch has taken the best-selling console crown in the US for four months running, according to NPD.

Whether it remained the best-selling console in the US during November remains to be seen; however, all things considered, we’re 99% sure Switch will once again land in the top slot. We’ll find out when the November NPD report is issued around December 14.

While PlayStation 4 wasn’t listed in the top five, Sony was super pleased with PS4 sales over Black Friday weekend.

According to the company, it was the “biggest Black Friday in PlayStation history.” Sony said it sold more consoles over the Black Friday 2017 weekend than it had during the same period in its 23-year history.

You can look over the charts for yourself through the Adobe report, where the information is location almost at the bottom of the page (thanks, GI.biz).

Switch was one of the best-selling products online from mid-November through Cyber Monday posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Destiny 2 Xur update: should you buy Sweet Business?

Sweet Business is Xur’s pick this week in Destiny 2.

Sweet Business is an auto rifle that looks like it would have been a great heavy weapon in Destiny 1. Despite its looks, it’s actually a Kinetic weapon in Destiny 2. Xur’s selling a version that comes with 270 power though that comes from stats that read as 265+5 power, to get specific.

This is an important detail you should keep in mind, especially if you’re considering the infusion method to hit Destiny 2’s Power cap. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, click the link and save yourself the trouble of losing Power – it’s just one of the many parts of our absolutely enormous Destiny 2 guide.

The weapon’s main intrinsic perk, Payday, increases its accuracy when fired from the hip. This works great with its large magazine, another benefit of the same perk.

For even more destruction, you can hold down the trigger to increase Sweet Business’ range and rate-of-fire, like a true minigun. Thanks to the Business Time trait, Sweet Business automatically loads ammo into the magazine when you pick it up.

It also has access to the perks Polygonal Rifling (Increased stability), High-Caliber Rounds (Increased Range and Knockback on hit) and Composite Stock (Even further increased stability and an increased handling speed). That’s a decent set of perks!

Sweet Business looks and sounds cool, and it’s fun to use. Unfortunately, it’s not a top-tier Exotic, and a lot of the time you really need to make every shot count with your Kinetic weapon, so something like this works in limited situations. It is tremendous fun, though, and great for absolutely letting rip with a barrage of seemingly never-ending bullets. Pick it up if you’re looking to have a bit of fun and remain effective without necessarily doing your best.

Destiny 2 Xur update: should you buy Sweet Business? posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Destiny 2: Xur location and inventory for December 1-5

We’re days away from the launch of Destiny 2’s first expansion, Curse of Osiris – did Xur bring anything exciting to celebrate?

Xur: Agent of the Nine is Destiny 2’s man of Exotics, whether they be the Exotic weapon variety or the armour variety. That’s kind of about it, but hopefully this will soon change.

As always, make sure to bring enough Legendary Shards to buy any of his items.

In case you haven’t heard, Curse of Osiris, the first major content drop for Destiny 2, is out December 5. Xur will have left by the time it launches, though. Bungie hosted three livestreams detailing different aspects of the expansion. Catch up on everything at the official Curse of Osiris tag.

Xur can be found on the EDZ at the Winding Cove this week. He leaves at 2am PST, 5am EST, 10am BST, 11am CEST on Tuesday, December 5. Here’s his exotic gear for the next few days:

• Sweet Business [Exotic Auto Rifle] – 29LS
• Lucky Raspberry [Hunter Chest Armor] – 23LS
• Synthoceps [Titan Gauntlets] – 23LS
• Skull of Dire Ahamkara [Warlock Helmet] – 29LS

Destiny 2: Xur location and inventory for December 1-5 posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW