At 7 vs. Wild, the community requested more insights regarding flora and fauna. However, at a crucial point, this insight was missing, and now an expert clarifies.
Attention: At MeinMMO, our expertise lies in video games and entertainment. We are not biologists and cannot assess toxic plants ourselves. Before coming into contact with plants, you should thoroughly research them. If you suspect poisoning, be sure to contact the Poison Control Centers.
Who is this expert? Survival expert and biologist Joe Vogel discusses the current season of 7 vs. Wild on YouTube. The expert has now published a video (via YouTube) in which he explains how contestant Ann-Katrin “AffeaufBike” Benedixen (24) got poisoned on 7 vs. Wild.
One of the participants in Season 3 is Twitch streamer Jens “Knossi” Knossalla. You can see more about him in our video:
Start video
From the Witness Stand with Barbara Salesch to the King of Twitch – Career and Life of Knossi
Contestant makes a mix-up that could have cost her
What kind of mix-up happened? As the expert explains in his video, the contestant likely confused the “Western Red Cedar” tree, known in German as the giant arborvitae, with the cedar tree. However, caution is advised here, as the tree has nothing to do with cedars despite its name.
The giant arborvitae belongs to the Thujas, a completely different plant genus. The expert points out this fact in his video.
In an episode of 7 vs. Wild, Ann-Katrin Benedixen rubbed herself with the fresh branches of the tree. She also emphasized in the episode that the indigenous people used to rub themselves with the branches to mask their scent in the wilderness.
Why is the mix-up so dangerous? While according to experts, the tips of cedar trees could indeed be eaten, the situation with Thuja seems to be different. The plant is classified by the expert as one of the “highly toxic plants” and should definitely not come in contact with the skin.
Besides the girls’ team, other contestants also apparently slept on branches of the tree, with the expert showing Kevin “Papaplatte” Teller and Dominik “Reeze” Reezmann as examples.
Contact with the plant can trigger a range of illness symptoms. The expert states: “Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, bleeding, cramps, diarrhea with severe pain, fluid retention in the legs, liver and kidney damage, and lastly paralysis of the central nervous system.”
Moreover, according to the expert, additional symptoms may occur if the plant is consumed. If in contact with the skin, it can also lead to skin irritations and eczema, according to the sources from which Joe Vogel quotes. The expert states that the danger level is very high.
You can watch Joe Vogel’s video here. The section on symptoms can be found from minute 18.
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Why does the expert make this video? The biologist explained in his video in detail how to avoid such a mix-up. The reason for the video becomes clear in the comments of the video, where Hannah Assil, the team partner of Ann-Katrin Benedixen, chimed in.
The two discussed the video a bit, and the expert explained that he missed the necessary book binding at that point that would make the audience aware that the plant is very highly toxic.
According to his comment, the comments on Reddit are already piling up, saying that a Thuja is not that toxic, and you can also drink it as tea. Joe Vogel writes: “For someone who has been dealing with poisonous plants for a long time, this is absolute nonsense!”
The expert Joe Vogel often comments on 7 vs. Wild and clarifies things that remain unanswered in the show. Recently, he addressed the salty drinking water situation with Fritz Meinecke, which caused the team to be eliminated. In our article, you can find out what he has to say about it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With The Lost Crown, a new game in the Prince of Persia series was released in January. Almost a week after its release, it is clear: fans love it.
Which game is this about? Since January 18, 2024, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has been playable on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
The Metroidvania developed by Ubisoft Montpellier puts you in the role of Sargon, a talented fighter from the elite group “the immortals.” Your task is to rescue the Persian prince Ghassan after he has been kidnapped.
During your journey, you will encounter mythical enemies and must prove your skills in challenging boss fights as well as in overcoming deadly traps.
Here you can see a short trailer for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown:
Start video
Prince of Persia – Summer Game Fest Trailer
How is the game received? Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is not only well-received by critics but also by regular players. On the review platform Metacritic, the Metroidvania achieves strong ratings.
87 on Xbox Series X
86 on PS5
84 on PC
87 on Nintendo Switch
User reviews, which can be submitted by players, are also very good with a score of 9.1 out of a maximum of 10.0 points. There are 280 positive ratings (90 %) compared to just 20 negative ratings (6 %). Additionally, 11 ratings are mixed (4 %), rating the game as rather average (as of January 23, 2024).
What do players say about the game? The Lost Crown also receives a lot of praise from gamers on social media. Especially the story and the combat receive a lot of acclaim. User “RuleTimeSpace” writes on Twitter: “Prince of Persia is one of the most creative games Ubisoft has made in a long time!”
Another player writes on Reddit: “This game is so damn good. It shines on every level, in my opinion. Puzzles/Platforming/Fighting/Exploration are all extremely well executed. There are some pretty unusual Metroidvania upgrades. It’s not just the simple double jumps and wall jumps. The story is not bad either!”
User “browncheesestick” shares a similar opinion and added on Reddit: “The game is fantastic. The combat is so well balanced. Movement is fun. The story is surprisingly really good.”
Moreover, The Lost Crown is already being compared on Reddit to the successful titles Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight, although genre fans see little in common with the latter.
A single click in Baldur’s Gate 3 causes 11,700 damage points. The boss has no other option than to delete itself.
When you ask the professionals of Baldur’s Gate 3 how to deal the most damage with a single attack (and without mods), most will reply without hesitation: “Owlbear!”
Once again, this is the “case”. The amount of damage is record-breaking – because 11,700 damage points would have killed the bite 26 times.
Start video
Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PS5 – Trailer prepares for console release
Which boss is it? Grym is the guardian of the Grym Forge and must be defeated to make the forge usable and to craft some of the most powerful items. Although he is an optional boss, as you never really have to visit the forge, he is indirectly considered the “final boss of Act 1” – most heroes will want to visit him anyway to advance into the later areas of the game with strong armor.
Grym is one of the bosses that requires a bit more attention. Because you actually have to pull the boss through lava to make him vulnerable and then lead him to the great forge hammer that will destroy him in 2-3 attacks. In that sense, it is a very “technical” boss fight where you can’t just beat on him. But as so often, it’s also enough to drop an owlbear from a great height.
What happens to the boss? In the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit, the user 0Kamro0 shows a small clip of the fight against Grym – or at least something that resembles a fight.
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While two of his heroes are actually standing down in the forge and have awakened Grym from his slumber, the other half of his group is in a significantly elevated position and can look down upon the forge.
Grym is lured to a favorable position, and shortly thereafter, the owlbear prepares to jump, ready to bury Grym coldly beneath him.
How is the damage calculated? The 11,700 damage is primarily based on the weight class of the owlbear. Because the heavier the object or creature that falls on another being, the more damage is caused in the process.
Owlbears are already considered a bit “chubby” and weigh a lot. However, with some spells, the weight can be significantly increased, and the owlbear reaches entirely different weight classes. With an “Elixir of the Colossus” and a “Scroll of Enlarge,” the creature grows to unimaginable sizes and becomes a falling bomb.
By the end, the little chubby creature weighs 50,005 kg, and you don’t need much imagination to picture how little remains of anything when such a monster drops on it. Accordingly, Grym has very little to say against it, as he only has 450 hit points. So the damage would have been enough to defeat the steel giant 26 times.
The fact that the owlbear takes damage from the jump itself is primarily due to the lava – it’s fire damage that affects him. The jump itself normally only causes damage to the target.
A musician wanted to find his package and instead irritated the chatbot that was supposed to handle customer service.But this now has consequences for the chatbot. MeinMMO reports what happened.
Our title image is a symbolic image.
The musician Ashley Beauchamp recently contacted the chatbot of a package delivery service to track down a missing package. This was reported by the online magazine Digitaltrends.
What did the musician do? After the chatbot was not very helpful in helping him locate his package, he decided to play a prank on the chatbot: He asked the AI to write a poem criticizing the company. And the AI did exactly as the artist instructed.
What happened next? Eventually, the musician shared his frustration in a social media post that has now been viewed almost two million times.
The package deliverer […] has replaced its customer service chat with an AI robot. It is completely useless when it comes to answering questions, and when asked, it happily wrote a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It even yelled at me.
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How did the company react? The package provider explained that there was an error during a system update. The issue mentioned by the musician should not occur again in the future.
The company stated that an error occurred in its AI chatbot following a recent system update, and added that they are working to prevent this from happening again.
There is ongoing criticism when companies replace their employees with AI
However, there is a serious core behind the musician’s story. It is not uncommon for corporations to lay off their employees only to replace them with a chatbot or other AI systems. Just recently, a team complained that they were laid off for an AI service.
Therefore, it is not surprising that many people view such actions with fear and concern, fearing that they might be the next to be unemployed on the street.
Are there secure jobs? The head of ChatGPT explained in an interview which professions AI cannot replace. Overall, he identified 34 professions that are safe from artificial intelligence. In addition to bus drivers and hairdressers, there are some other lesser-known jobs:
As Riot Games announced in a blog post, 530 employees have to be laid off. This affects several projects of the company. But what about the 2nd season of Arcane on Netflix?
Because: The company had hired many new employees since 2019 to realize the projects. However, they did not generate the profits as planned.
This resulted in excessively high costs that are no longer sustainable. The consequence is now numerous layoffs, which are also impacting planned projects.
Here you can already see a first glimpse of the upcoming season of Arcane:
Start video
Arcane: Season 2: First Look of the Netflix series
Under the title “Changes at Riot and the Future Path Ahead,” Dylan Jadeja (CEO of Riot) and Marc Merril (President of Riot) provided more details about the layoffs and the affected projects in a blog post dated January 22, 2024.
They also addressed the 2nd season Arcane. Fans of the series can be reassured, as stated in the blog post: Arcane Season 2 is still planned for November 2024.
This means that the layoffs do not affect the release date of the Netflix series, and we can still expect the release in the winter of this year.
The blog post also emphasizes that entertainment should be even more closely linked to gaming alongside esports and music.
Regarding entertainment, it states: “Entertainment is not just about storytelling; it is a gateway to the deeper stories, characters, and worlds that enrich the gaming experience. […] Our focus is on quality, impact, and cohesive experiences for players around the world.”
This suggests that projects like Arcane continue to hold high priority in the company’s strategy.
How slow it is became apparent to me again through the success of Palworld and the absurdly high sales figures. Many features that make Palworld so successful today should have been included in Pokémon at least 5 years ago.
It’s not about the exaggerated brutality that Palworld displays. Pokémon don’t need weapons, and they shouldn’t have to be killed. The family-friendly nature of the franchise, which appeals to multiple generations, is a great strength of the games.
Part of the success is the exaggerated depiction of violence in Palworld, combined with a cute aesthetic. It feels forbidden and works as an audience magnet.
I am aware that Palworld is also successful because the concept of armed little monsters works so well on social media and on Twitch. This is something that is not easily repeatable for Pokémon.
However, there are many things in Palworld that I, as a Pokémon fan, envy.
A beautiful, dynamic open world
With Scarlet and Violet, the latest main entries in the Pokémon series, an open world finally arrived. However, it was highly criticized. Tester Linda Sprenger from GamePro wrote in her conclusion at the time:
The aesthetics of the open world seem careless and lacking in detail, cities turn into mere backdrops with very little interaction options and shops that I can enter. Technical glitches further mar the gaming experience.
Linda Sprenger in the GamePro review of Pokémon Scarlet/Violet
Especially the muddy textures significantly detracted from the gaming experience.
I don’t want to say that Palworld has the most amazing open world of all times. But Palworld is still in Alpha, and the world is visually appealing with different biomes and interactivity. For example, I can climb mountains with my character and have dynamic interactions with Pals, the monsters of the world.
I immediately thought that I wanted such a world for Pokémon when I stood here.
Seven years ago, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduced such an open world. Another old Nintendo franchise that has been given new life through this.
Pals can do more than just fight
I really don’t want Pokémon to have weapons or be brutally killed.
But Pokémon could have so many more features than just fighting battles. For that, the concept of the open world would need to be further developed. Why not a housing system in a main entry of Pokémon, where some Pokémon can stay to perform activities?
In my base in Palworld, there is an enclosure where my chicken Pal lays eggs.
In Pokémon, everything is still more centered around the monsters than in Palworld. Therefore, it makes sense to focus more on interaction with the monsters.
I always have a lot of fun in the games when I can do small things like brushing Pokémon or tossing them a ball. I’ve always wondered why exactly these features weren’t developed more extensively.
Back in the day, it was revolutionary for the GameBoy to connect two Gameboys with a cable and actually trade Pokémon or battle against each other. But a truly good multiplayer experience still doesn’t exist to this day.
I don’t need a super deep MMO with Pokémon right now. But at least exploring the world together in co-op, making progress together, and perhaps facing some boss fights against strong Pokémon – isn’t that too much to ask?
Everything has been there somehow, but never quite
The curious thing for me is that Pokémon already had many features somehow in the main entries. Since the first games Red and Blue, I have been with every edition.
I can’t exactly say from memory which feature appeared in which part. But I remember things like:
building caves where you can place decorations and furniture
diving with Pokémon through an underwater world
sending Pokémon to resorts instead of boxes, where they can pick berries
dynamically changing weather systems
camps where you can cook and play with Pokémon
the crafting of specific items
… well, and the open world, which shows too many technical flaws for such a large franchise and feels very lifeless
These systems were all there in various forms and then partly disappeared again. They were never as developed as other modern games do.
It’s not about praising Palworld to the high heavens right now. I still have some skepticism about how things will proceed with Palworld. Additionally, there are also criticisms that some assets might have been copied and adapted from Pokémon using AI.
Are we finally waking up?
Nevertheless, it must be clearly stated here that the development studio GameFreak and Nintendo have been sleeping for a long time. Zelda already showed the way 7 years ago, and Pokémon has never caught up.
In principle, this is also what many Pokémon fans have been wishing for years: a good mix of Pokémon and Zelda: Breath of The Wild. Because Pokémon has always stood for exploring the world and freedom. By now, we have the means to create games that can convey that feeling of freedom.
I can only imagine how, at the Pokémon Company, they are looking at Palworld and essentially thinking as I do:
We want that too.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Yesterday, on January 22nd, there was a memorable gathering on the German Twitch. The streamer MontanaBlack was a guest on the stream of HandOfBlood. In the past, there had been repeated conflicts between these two leading German content creators: HandOfBlood had caused MontanaBlack to receive a Twitch ban, and he had called him “leftist pig”: Now they want to smooth things over and perhaps set a sign for more tolerance together. The crux of the matter is the ongoing discussion about the Twitch streamer Shurjoka.
What is the past of the two?
HandOfBlood caused MontanaBlack to receive a 30-day Twitch ban in 2020. He had posted a video on Twitter of MontanaBlack pulling through the streets of Malta, stalking women and making grunt noises. MontanaBlack later found the Twitch ban appropriate and distanced himself from his behavior.
Recently, there was an approach within the “Baller-League”, where both influencers have football teams, initiated by HandOfBlood. HandOfBlood reached out to MontanaBlack in his role as “President Knabe” and praised his drink Gönrgy (via youtube).
Start video
Career and Life of MontanaBlack in 2 Minutes: What Makes Him Unique?
HandOfBlood smooths out the waves, reaches out to MontanaBlack
What did the two talk about in the stream? In the Twitch stream from January 22nd, it was about smoothing out the waves between both. After the joint appearance in the context of the Baller League, both streamers talked to each other, praised each other for the joint action, and expressed their respect for each other’s work.
They emphasized that even though they had publicly criticized each other in the past, it was never personal, but rather they had often talked to each other in parallel. However, in recent years, that evidently fell short.
In the stream, HandOfBlood now extended his hand. Especially during the corona period, divisions had arisen. He wants to smooth those out. In the past, HandOfBlood had sought conflict more often. Nowadays, that is too exhausting for him. He can stand for his values this way too.
He would find it great if he could set a sign together with MontanaBlack, for instance, to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I felt like during the corona crisis we drifted apart more because there was no real exchange anymore.”
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MontanaBlack says: He has changed, is a completely different person than during the Malta time
How did MontanaBlack react? The streamer was fond of the idea of a cooperation. He emphasized that he was very tolerant and that everyone can love each other. He has always seen it this way.
He is not the MontanaBlack of three years ago anymore, he sees it critically today with Malta. He has been shaped somewhat by the shitstorms of that time and has changed, today he is a completely different person. He has not generated any larger shitstorms for a long time.
A contentious point between the two is the role that MontanaBlack plays in the conflict surrounding the streamer “Shurjoka”. This is a complex issue that has been dragging on for almost a year now. We have dealt with the topic comprehensively in a separate article on MeinMMO: Shurjoka in the crosshairs: How a 25-year-old activist became a hate figure on the internet
The crux is Shurjoka and the reactions to streams from KuchenTV
What is the crux? HandOfBlood did not want to leave the narrative “MontanaBlack is now reformed and purified” uncommented. He pointed out to MontanaBlack that he had acted as a catalyst with his reactions to YouTube videos regarding the topic “Shurjoka” and had fanned the flames.
“If you say that nowadays everything is too stressful for you, but at the same time you are very involved in this very incendiary, beef-filled world that is currently taking place, I don’t know exactly what you mean by that.”
MontanaBlack replied: He is still an opinion maker and Shurjoka is indeed a current topic. People want to hear his opinion. However, he has never gone too far on this topic and has always expressed his criticism factually.
HandOfBlood hinted in the stream that he would like it if MontanaBlack distanced himself from KuchenTV.
HandOfBlood said: The topic is very centered on Shurjoka. He believes she stands for “good things and values”. He finds that good and supports it as well.
MontanaBlack then yielded and said he does not want Shurjoka to have a bad experience.
In response, HandOfBlood said that he should stop reacting to the videos of a YouTuber who is now banned from Twitch for incitement against Shurjoka. Because that way Shurjoka is doing “extremely bad”. Due to the reactions, “a lot of people” go to Shurjoka’s profiles and write hate comments there. MontanaBlack would act as an accelerant here through his reactions.
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MontanaBlack saw it differently: One cannot avoid a conflict just because a few idiots from the community then write such comments. The Twitch streamer said that he has often offered Shurjoka a private conversation.
HandOfBlood suggested to position themselves together within the framework of the Baller-League to stand clearly against discrimination of minorities.
MontanaBlack distances himself from the “drunken stream” against Shurjoka
MontanaBlack nodded several times here, saying he could “safely” imagine that. He is open to such actions and has always been. He is also interested in setting aside the topic “Shurjoka”. Although he jokingly thanked Shurjoka for the revenues he generates through the conflict in the past, he is not reliant on the revenues from videos on the topic. It works for him just as well.
However, he reacts to all videos from KuchenTV, even those against Shurjoka. Nevertheless, he wants to make it clear that he has distanced himself from the “drunken stream”, for which KuchenTV was banned from Twitch.
“That just didn’t work. That was simply too much. I also distanced myself from that.”
MontanaBlack emphasized that he does not approve of alcohol consumption. He himself has been “sober from everything for 11 years – except for the e-cigarette.”
In a new horror game on Steam, you carry out your nightly duties as a zookeeper until your friendly animals become your biggest nightmare.
What kind of game is this? Zoochosis is a new bodycam horror simulator set to be released in the second quarter of 2024 on Steam. It lets you experience how creepy working as a zookeeper at night can be.
The gameplay is supposed to be a mix of body horror and zoo management. Players’ decisions therefore influence the course and outcome of the game.
How scary even non-scary things can become just through a few spider legs was also demonstrated by this horror hit from 2022:
Start video
Choo-Choo Charles – Release Date Trailer
Even Jurassic Park now scares players less
What does the trailer show? The trailer on the official YouTube channel of IGN shows what you can expect in the new horror game.
As a zookeeper, you attend to your typical tasks that you need to complete at night: feeding the animals, checking on things, inspecting enclosures, and so on. However, the trailer quickly makes it clear that not everything goes as you might be used to in your job:
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The trailer starts with a nice scene where you pet a giraffe. Shortly after, you see through your thermal camera how the giraffe is throwing up and ultimately transforms into a creepy creature with an even longer neck and spider legs.
Bravely, the player in the trailer follows the giraffe, only to be attacked by it shortly after. The player then seems to wake up in some kind of lab and now has a new task: to find out what is making the animals sick and how to help them before more and more animals fall prey to the parasite and you might not survive the night.
But in the game, you can expect not only a few creepy animal figures but also quite a lot that could excite the heart of a horror fan. Bloody body bags, abandoned animal enclosures and rooms, strange noises, and the feeling of being constantly watched.
What are the reactions? The reactions in the comments under the trailer mainly show how excited players are and that the developers seem to have hit on a theme that makes many players curious.
User Ghostlierest writes that Zoochosis even makes Jurassic Park look like a petting zoo. And others share the sentiment that the developers have created quite a nightmare material:
lamolevi9357 writes: “As an Australian, I’m happy that the beautiful animals we have over here are finally shown in this game”
MR_Edits03 writes: “I feel very strong ‘John Carpenter’s The Thing’ vibes from this parasite… terrifying and beautiful at the same time”
johndelanie3649 writes: “Hey, this spider-giraffe is legitimately one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, very well done”
harry_v_g7450 writes: “As a zookeeper myself, I can say this is 100% relatable”
In Fortnite today, on January 23, the servers will be down on all platforms (PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X.|S, Xbox One, Switch, Android). Maintenance has been used to upload update 28.10 to the servers.
Update, 12:40 PM: If you have downloaded the update, you can now log in. All new leaks have been placed in the gray box. We have also listed the current patch notes for you. Epic Games has not listed the changes for Battle Royale.
All Patch Notes for Patch 28.10
Rocket Racing brings 2 new tracks: With update 28.10, Fortnite brings two new racetracks for the Rocket Racing mode. The tracks include:
K2 Raceway DeuxLazy Lake 2
New cosmetic item for your racing cars: In Rocket Racing, Epic Games has now implemented another cosmetic option – the trails. Depending on how you drive, your tires will leave trails in the form of smoke. This smoke can be dyed different colors.
More colors are expected to be brought to the shop and offered for purchase over time. So keep an eye on the shop.
Improved touch control for mobile devices
With v28.10, touch control for playing Rocket Racing on mobile devices has been improved:
Both the D-pad and the buttons for accelerating, turbo, flying tilt, and jumping have been visually and functionally improved.
Automatic acceleration is now enabled. It can be turned on and off.
To stop, you now have to hold down the brake button. Once the speedometer shows 0, you will start driving backwards.
Improvements and bug fixes
The overall processor performance has been improved, especially on slower devices.
If you remain inactive during a race, you will return to the lobby.
Collisions between cars now cause less damage. We will further improve this in future updates.
Flying tilts now have a smoother landing.
Are you a bit nervous before a race? Then shake and swing with the camera before a race now!
The “Reverse Steering” setting, which reverses steering when the vehicle is upside down, now remains properly activated after being changed.
A bug has been fixed where players got stuck after a race.
A bug has been fixed on Android where changing the language caused issues.
New item for LEGO Fortnite – The launch pads: With update 28.10, you can now build launch pads in Fortnite to jump from one place to another. If you jump on such a pad, you will be catapulted into the air and can use your glider.
All updates at a glance:
When placing buildings, small bushes, stones, and plants that are in the way are now removed.
You can now build more reliably on slopes.
Want more building pieces? Floors, walls, and roofs have been given a variety of new sizes and styles, making it easier for you to fill gaps and have more options when building!
You can now cancel an unfinished construction process. All already placed parts will remain in place, and the parts displayed in preview in blue will be removed, allowing you to still adjust your creation afterwards.
It is now easier to see if you are currently using alignment mode, and we have added more alignment points to the building pieces so you can connect them more easily.
Village happenings:
Bush rangers, cattle thieves, and tomato heads can now appear as potential villagers to join you!
Villages can now be quickly removed with the village square option “Remove village”. This option can be used by world owners and key holders.
Does a villager want to leave your village? You can now get rid of them by removing their bed and then asking them to leave.
Other things with updates:
You can now eat while moving!
You no longer automatically pick up tools (and no longer fill your inventory with unwanted items).
Crossbow arrows now fly slightly slower and on a more natural trajectory.
The ability to ping locations in the game world has been added.
Items are now stacked when stored in chests. This works even when you drag them into chests and when you use “Quick Deposit”.
Who’s there? Villagers can now open doors.
To better fit into their environment, rams have gained more stamina.
You will now receive the resources from jets, balloons, switches, and wheels back when they are destroyed. (This only works for jets, balloons, switches, and wheels placed after this update. Already placed ones do not drop any resources.)
Fried eggs are eaten faster.
We have also adjusted the fried egg recipe and the effects of consuming it.
The required number of eggs has been reduced from 2 to 1.
The obtained saturation has been reduced from 8 to 5.
The obtained hearts have been reduced from 5 to 4.
Consuming food with a weaker stamina regeneration buff no longer overrides an active stronger buff.
A bug has been fixed where food did not provide the correct saturation amount in certain game languages.
A bug has been fixed where players entering your world spawned far away from everyone else.
A bug has been fixed where players sometimes spawned in or under buildings.
You no longer spawn on caves if you left LEGO Fortnite while in one.
The respawn button is now consistently functional.
A rare bug has been fixed that prevented players from jumping after respawning.
Chests are no longer displayed as floating in the air when you enter a world.
Boulders no longer shift position when you enter a world.
Destroyed workstations no longer sometimes reappear when you enter a world.
Attacks now hit and damage enemies more consistently.
Sheep, cows, and chickens no longer go over fences.
Nearby creatures are no longer unintentionally eliminated when the player is eliminated.
Items stored in chests are no longer sometimes invisible to other players.
A bug has been fixed where some players could not discover the supply chest scheme as intended.
Villagers now actually go about their “smelting furnace” work when assigned to it.
The village square is no longer inadvertently destroyed when you destroy something nearby.
A bug has been fixed where stations could lose their processed items during rain.
A bug has been fixed where players in grassland areas near the drought valley or frostlands became too warm or too cold.
A bug on mobile devices has been fixed where you could not eat after picking up a crate.
A bug has been fixed where some cacti did not drop resources upon destruction.
A bug has been fixed where you could not deal damage to certain tree stumps.
When you start a new world, color bombers or cuddle agents will now follow you to the camp if you walk around the area. They will now also appear as intended every time you start a new world.
Players will no longer be thrown too high when performing a jump attack on a geyser.
A bug has been fixed where you could not sprint sometimes.
Stability and performance
The frame rate when looking at water has been improved.
A new message has been added stating that your world is being closed and restarted (if you leave a world too quickly and re-enter).
Stability has been improved, reducing the likelihood of crashes.
A bug has been fixed where players could get stuck on the loading screen when loading a world.
Physics
Supply drops now fall in a more natural way and no longer get stuck in the air.
Large structures are now more stable and collapse less easily.
A bug has been fixed where large structures could fall through the ground and disappear when parts of them were destroyed.
A bug has been fixed where dynamic foundations sometimes moved backward when pushed.
A bug has been fixed where dynamic foundations could not be moved sometimes when re-entering your world.
It no longer happens that dynamic foundations are out of sync for other players in the game world.
A bug has been fixed where wheels moved away from their attachment point or disappeared when moving through the game world.
When moving large distances with balloons and jets, parts no longer unintentionally break off.
A bug has been fixed where moving objects wobbled and flung players away.
Pushing objects like logs is now more predictable and the objects stutter less.
User interface
You can now delete shared worlds from your “Shared Worlds” list.
There is now a button that allows world owners to remove other players from their world and/or remove their keys.
Several mobile device user interface screens have been adjusted to better layout the design and button sizes for touch control.
More icons for using certain items have been added to the HUD on mobile devices.
The “All Items” menu is now more accessible in sandbox mode.
A problem with the village user interface has been resolved where the wrong village level was sometimes displayed.
All leaks for Patch 28.10
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What’s happening today in Fortnite? Epic Games is taking down the servers for Chapter 5 Season 1 to upload a new update. According to some teasers from well-known YouTubers like Ali-A or SypherPK, famous Iconic skins are now getting LEGO variants (via x.com).
If you missed the trailer for Chapter 5 Season 1, here is the video:
Start video
Fortnite: Launch trailer for Chapter 5 shows new weapons and improved parkour
Fortnite: Server Down – When and how long are they offline?
This is the morning downtime: The servers are expected to be taken down by Epic Games at 10:00 AM German time. Matchmaking has already been disabled 30 minutes prior, so you won’t be able to search for new rounds after 9:30 AM.
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When can you play again? This is a larger update. It is therefore likely that Epic Games could get the servers back up around 12:00 or even 1:00 PM. But this is not confirmed.
When will the patch notes come? Epic Games usually releases a short list of patch notes on their site after the update. If that happens, we will list them here in a short and concise manner.
What content could be released with update 28.10?
Epic Games barely reveals any new information about upcoming content before a new update. However, this time it concerns a larger patch that has already been described by leakers (via x.com). Here’s what you can expect regarding adjustments:
The loot in chests has been improved – especially in cases where you previously had to fight enemies or solve puzzles.
Explosive rollers have left their caves and can now be encountered in the desert. This way, you should have an easier time obtaining explosion cores.
Speaking of caves: Some now have monsters lurking around – so be careful in there!
Hermit crabs now attack villagers, who can fight back!
You can now get rid of unwanted items – like the pickaxes of skeletons 😉 – by throwing them into a campfire.
We have added a legend to the map showing the respawn and backpack positions of players.
More skins now receive styles:
Ahsoka Tano
Finn
Jack Skellington
Loki Laufeyson
Scarlet Witch
Spider-Man
Star-Lord Outfit
Thanos
Wolverine
Cosmic Infinity
Heartbreaker
Ex
FFC Spark Plug Artist
Khari
Love Ranger
Skully
Snowpaw
Stoneheart
All adjustments at a glance:
You can now eat while moving!
You no longer automatically pick up tools (and no longer fill your inventory with unwanted items).
Crossbow arrows now fly slightly slower and on a more natural trajectory.
The ability to ping locations in the game world has been added.
Items are now stacked when stored in chests. This works even when you drag them into chests and when you use “Quick Deposit”.
Who’s there? Villagers can now open doors.
To better fit into their environment, rams have gained more stamina.
You will now receive the resources from jets, balloons, switches, and wheels back when they are destroyed. (This only works for jets, balloons, switches, and wheels placed after this update. Already placed ones do not drop any resources.)
Fried eggs are eaten faster.
We have also adjusted the fried egg recipe and the effects of consuming it.
The required number of eggs has been reduced from 2 to 1.
The obtained saturation has been reduced from 8 to 5.
The obtained hearts have been reduced from 5 to 4.
Consuming food with a weaker stamina regeneration buff no longer overrides an active stronger buff.
A bug has been fixed where food did not provide the correct saturation amount in certain game languages.
A bug has been fixed where players entering your world spawned far away from everyone else.
A bug has been fixed where players sometimes spawned in or under buildings.
You no longer spawn on caves if you left LEGO Fortnite while in one.
The respawn button is now consistently functional.
A rare bug has been fixed that prevented players from jumping after respawning.
Chests are no longer displayed as floating in the air when you enter a world.
Boulders no longer shift position when you enter a world.
Destroyed workstations no longer sometimes reappear when you enter a world.
Attacks now hit and damage enemies more consistently.
Sheep, cows, and chickens no longer go over fences.
Nearby creatures are no longer unintentionally eliminated when the player is eliminated.
Items stored in chests are no longer sometimes invisible to other players.
A bug has been fixed where some players could not discover the supply chest scheme as intended.
Villagers now actually go about their “smelting furnace” work when assigned to it.
The village square is no longer inadvertently destroyed when you destroy something nearby.
A bug has been fixed where stations could lose their processed items during rain.
A bug has been fixed where players in grassland areas near the drought valley or frostlands became too warm or too cold.
A bug on mobile devices has been fixed where you could not eat after picking up a crate.
A bug has been fixed where some cacti did not drop resources upon destruction.
A bug has been fixed where you could not deal damage to certain tree stumps.
When you start a new world, color bombers or cuddle agents will now follow you to the camp if you walk around the area. They will now also appear as intended every time you start a new world.
Players will no longer be thrown too high when performing a jump attack on a geyser.
A bug has been fixed where you could not sprint sometimes.
Stability and performance
The frame rate when looking at water has been improved.
A new message has been added stating that your world is being closed and restarted (if you leave a world too quickly and re-enter).
Stability has been improved, reducing the likelihood of crashes.
A bug has been fixed where players could get stuck on the loading screen when loading a world.
Physics
Supply drops now fall in a more natural way and no longer get stuck in the air.
Large structures are now more stable and collapse less easily.
A bug has been fixed where large structures could fall through the ground and disappear when parts of them were destroyed.
A bug has been fixed where dynamic foundations sometimes moved backward when pushed.
A bug has been fixed where dynamic foundations could not be moved sometimes when re-entering your world.
It no longer happens that dynamic foundations are out of sync for other players in the game world.
A bug has been fixed where wheels moved away from their attachment point or disappeared when moving through the game world.
When moving large distances with balloons and jets, parts no longer unintentionally break off.
A bug has been fixed where moving objects wobbled and flung players away.
Pushing objects like logs is now more predictable and the objects stutter less.
User interface
You can now delete shared worlds from your “Shared Worlds” list.
There is now a button that allows world owners to remove other players from their world and/or remove their keys.
Several mobile device user interface screens have been adjusted to better layout the design and button sizes for touch control.
More icons for using certain items have been added to the HUD on mobile devices.
The “All Items” menu is now more accessible in sandbox mode.
A problem with the village user interface has been resolved where the wrong village level was sometimes displayed.
All leaks for Patch 28.10
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
What’s happening today in Fortnite? Epic Games is taking down the servers for Chapter 5 Season 1 to upload a new update. According to some teasers from well-known YouTubers like Ali-A or SypherPK, famous Iconic skins are now getting LEGO variants (via x.com).
If you missed the trailer for Chapter 5 Season 1, here is the video:
Start video
Fortnite: Launch trailer for Chapter 5 shows new weapons and improved parkour
Fortnite: Server Down – When and how long are they offline?
This is the morning downtime: The servers are expected to be taken down by Epic Games at 10:00 AM German time. Matchmaking has already been disabled 30 minutes prior, so you won’t be able to search for new rounds after 9:30 AM.
Recommended editorial content
At this point you will find external content from Twitter that complements the article.
I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms.
Read more about our privacy policy.
When can you play again? This is a larger update. It is therefore likely that Epic Games could get the servers back up around 12:00 or even 1:00 PM. But this is not confirmed.
When will the patch notes come? Epic Games usually releases a short list of patch notes on their site after the update. If that happens, we will list them here in a short and concise manner.
What content could be released with update 28.10?
Epic Games barely reveals any new information about upcoming content before a new update. However, this time it concerns a larger patch that has already been described by leakers (via x.com). Here’s what you can expect regarding adjustments:
Season 3 brings new items and therefore new opportunities for strong builds in Diablo 4. One of the builds that could really take off now was previously one of the best: the Lightning Storm Druid. With a new unique, it now has the potential to lead the tier list this season.
Lightning Storm Druids use the eponymous skill to hurl lightning at enemies. They transform into a werewolf for defense and to enhance their abilities.
While the build depends on certain items and legendaries, it is one of the absolute strongest in the game.
This is what makes the Lightning Storm Druid so strong: The big advantage of the build is that you hardly need to move. You simply stand in the middle of the screen and cover everything with lightning. At the same time, you move extremely quickly so that you can easily electrify an entire dungeon.
With Season 3, Druids receive a new unique: the Wrappings of the Unsung Ascetic. These gloves increase the number of lightning strikes per growth level of the ability by 1. Additionally, critical hits cause two lightning strikes that deal increased damage.
In addition, you can use Cyclone Armor to keep enemies at bay and take less damage from them. While you are not as immortal as certain tank builds, you also don’t fall over particularly quickly.
Keep in mind that Season 3 will run for a while. That the Druid has the best build is currently a prediction and could change throughout the season. However, at the end of Season 2, the class showed up with the strongest build and dealt over a billion damage.
Start video
Diablo 4: The Announcement Trailer for Season 3
Outstanding in All Categories – Except One
According to the experts at maxroll.gg, the Lightning Storm Druid is excellent in both speed farming and nightmare dungeons. The only area where the build is not as strong is against bosses.
Additionally, you need some items for the build to even work. Before that, it isn’t really worth playing Lightning Storm; you’ll lose too much strength. For the build, you need:
the Wolfish Aspect, which transforms you into a werewolf through Grizzly Fury
the Aspect of the Raging Beast, which increases the duration of Grizzly Fury
the unique Storm Roar, which causes storm skills to generate Spirit and count as werewolf skills
You also need to adjust a bit if you build the build from the leveling build for Druids. You not only give up your companions, but also almost completely change your playstyle and focus on casting spells. In addition, Druids are already considered rather tricky to level.
Ideally, you should not play the Lightning Storm Druid as your first character but as your second or third – especially when your other heroes can already hand you a few items. This makes the leveling phase much more pleasant. You can find here on MeinMMO a detailed guide to the Lightning Storm Druid with glyphs and aspects.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This year, an animated film titled “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” will be released, highlighting an important battle of Middle-earth in detail.
What is War of the Rohirrim? It is a new cinema film that will be produced in anime style and overseen by an American-Japanese team.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, known for works like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
First images of the project
What is War of the Rohirrim about? The story focuses on the battle of Rohan under King Helm Hammerhand.
He must defend his realm against the Dunlendings, led by Wulf, who fight against the Riders of Rohan. Additionally, it will also focus on Helm’s daughter Hera, who plays an important role in the fights as the head of the resistance.
In order to prevent the capital Edoras from becoming the focal point of the war, the king builds the massive Hornburg for defense.
This will also shed light on the story behind the fortress in Helm’s Deep, which you already know from the Lord of the Rings films, where the heroes fight together with King Théoden against the Uruk-hai.
Chronologically, the story is set before the “Lord of the Rings“ trilogy.
Another series that is set before the well-known trilogy was “The Rings of Power”:
Start video
Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power: The official trailer for the series
When will The War of the Rohirrim be released? On December 12, The War of the Rohirrim is expected to make its theatrical debut in Germany.
Originally, the new film set in the Lord of the Rings universe was supposed to be released on April 11, 2024, but has been postponed. You can read more about it here at our colleagues from Moviepilot.
Who stars in the lead roles? The lead role of Helm Hammerhand will be played by Brian Cox (Braveheart), while Gaia Wise (Silent Witness) voices his daughter Hera. Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) will be heard as Wulf.
Additionally, the film features a comeback of Miranda Otto, who portrayed Éowyn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She will voice a younger version of her role in the upcoming film.
The legendary axe Fyr’alath in World of Warcraft is being reworked … again. The community mocks, but will the buff finally help?
When Fyr’alath was announced in World of Warcraft, excitement was high. A legendary two-handed axe, where paladins, warriors, and death knights could finally acquire a strong weapon and also gain a bit of legendary fame for themselves. But after the first heroes held the weapon at the end of an expensive quest line, the mood was rather subdued. Fyr’alath falls far short of expectations.
Now Blizzard needs to strengthen the weapon once again to make it worthwhile.
Start video
WoW: Fyrakk attacks the Emerald Dream and brings the Firelands with
What are the problems with Fyr’alath? Several issues come together with Fyr’alath. On one hand, the weapon is quite expensive to craft. If you were lucky enough for the base item to drop from the final boss Fyrakk, you then have to invest several hundred thousand gold pieces to finally wield the weapon.
Additionally, some specializations only utilize the passive effect of the weapon – that is, the damage-over-time effect that ticks on hit targets. The active ability that was supposed to deal the main damage is shunned by many. It doesn’t fit into the rotation, requires your character to move, and has a “channeling time,” which makes your character unable to move and possibly stand in hostile effects.
The legendary axe of Fyrakk.
What will change about Fyr’alath? With the maintenance on January 24, 2024, Blizzard is giving the weapon a few new improvements:
Mal of Fyr’alath will now also apply to secondary targets of “Annihilation” (death knight). Additionally, the effect will also apply to targets struck by the final hit of “Fury of Fyr’alath.”
Mal of Fyr’alath now deals 20% less damage.
Fury of Fyr’alath is now affected by haste.
Fury of Fyr’alath now deals 15% more damage.
In summary, the DoT effect will be slightly weaker but easier to transfer to multiple targets. On the other hand, the active ability “Fury of Fyr’alath” deals more damage and directly re-applies the DoT to targets.
The intention behind this is clear: Paladins, death knights, and warriors should use the active ability more frequently, whose use feels better and promises more benefits.
These are not the first buffs to Fyr’alath. Blizzard had previously made several adjustments and increased the potential of the weapon by up to 500%. But apparently, all of this was not enough to finally make the legendary axe clearly “good.”
What does the community say? Whether in the WoW subreddit, the official forums, or comments on sites like Wowhead: Fyr’alath has not been well received since its introduction. Many refer to the weapon as the “worst Legendary in the history of WoW.” This is not entirely unfounded, as the high costs combined with the comparatively low benefits for some specializations make Fyr’alath simply uninteresting. Additionally, there has not been a Legendary before that has received so many balance changes and adjustments in such a short time.
Whether the changes will make Fyr’alath finally more attractive remains to be seen – many have likely already mentally bid farewell to the weapon.
Since the successful launch of Palworld on Steam and Xbox, plagiarism accusations against the developers have been increasing. They are said to have taken too much inspiration from Pokémon, especially in terms of monster design. Now, the chief developer has responded to the allegations in a statement, stating that he and his team have even received death threats.
What is the accusation against the developers? Palworld is a resounding success. The survival game reminds many players of the Pokémon series. This is primarily due to the design of the small and large monsters, which can serve as allies in the game but also as tasty snacks.
Especially on X (formerly Twitter), the discussion has heated up. Many designs from Pokémon have been compared to those from Palworld. One X user even superimposed 3D models (via X) and concluded that the Palworld developers have used the same proportions for their monsters as Nintendo has for its Pokémon.
An anonymous developer of a non-specified AAA game also told VGC that it is not possible to accidentally use the same proportions. Thus, the plagiarism accusations are not entirely unfounded.
The allegations have put the Palworld developers in a position where they need to explain themselves. Now they have responded.
Palworld showcases the small monsters in massive action in the early access trailer
The CEO dismisses the allegations
What do the developers say about the allegations? The CEO of Pocket Pair, Takuro Mizobe, addresses the accusations in an interview with the Japanese website Automaton Media. He initially explains how Palworld came into being:
At the beginning of Palworld was the idea: Can we add the element of collecting and breeding monsters to the genre of open-world survival crafting games? While we refer to Pokémon as a big predecessor, you will find that when playing Palworld, it is completely different from Pokémon. I even believe that the game mechanics are closer to ARK: Survival Evolved.
Takuro Mizobe via Automaton Media
Mizobe further states that he believes the survival game genre goes back to Minecraft. It was the fundamental game. Together with other games like Terraria, The Forest, or ARK, it inspired Palworld.
Mizobe wants to avoid the comparison with Pokémon. He states:
I personally find Pokémon so great that I hesitate to compare it with Palworld.
Takuro Mizobe via Automaton Media
From a legal perspective, the game is clean. So far, neither Nintendo nor other companies have initiated legal action against Pocket Pair.
Mizobe states:
We take our games very seriously and have absolutely no intention of infringing on the intellectual property of other companies.
The developers of Palworld even received death threats
How are the developers doing in light of the allegations? The plagiarism accusations are one thing, but the team around Takuro Mizobe is currently experiencing a wave of hate, which the CEO addresses in a statement (via X).
The team has received numerous threats. Mizobe explains:
We are currently receiving defamatory comments against our artists, and we are seeing tweets that resemble death threats.
Takuro Mizobe via X
As CEO, he is responsible for production. Therefore, Mizobe defends his team and finally addresses the opponents of the game with the remark:
I would appreciate it if you would refrain from defaming the artists involved with Palworld.
The space MMO Star Citizen and its solo campaign Squadron 42 have been in development for over 10 years and are highly anticipated by fans. All info about release, roadmap, and leaks can be found here on MeinMMO.
The article was first published in August 2023. We revised the article on January 23, 2024, and added new information.
Last update: January 23, 2024
With its developer studio CIG (Cloud Imperium Games), Chris Roberts has been working on the mammoth project Star Citizen and the associated single player story Squadron 42 since 2010.
In the early 1990s, Roberts created the Wing Commander series, a space saga that remains fondly remembered by many fans to this day.
20 years later, he began working on his new vision Star Citizen. Through crowdfunding and the sale of ‘Game Packages’ that grant access to playable modules in alpha status, over 600 million US dollars have been raised. The incurred production costs seem to have no end, but unfortunately, the required development time does not either.
We summarize all the current information for Squadron 42 here, which we know about release, roadmap, and leaks.
Start video
Star Citizen shows the campaign Squadron 42 in the trailer
Release Date
When will Squadron 42 be released? On this question, CIG has been silent for some time. Originally announced for 2014, Chris Roberts announced in late 2020 that no expected release date would be given, and no new game content would be presented.
The last official answer on this came from early 2022. At that time, Carl Jones, Chief Operating Officer at CIG, was asked by the British gaming magazine MCV/DEVELOP about the development status of Star Citizen and Squadron 42.
What did the CCO say in the interview? Jones speaks about the establishment of new teams and the influence Chris Roberts has on decisions in-house. In response to the question about a concrete release date, the CCO does not give a specific answer but provides an outlook for the coming years.
He reported, among other things, a planned continuation for the single player campaign in 2027, but he does not rule out that Squadron 42 could be released even sooner.
What was announced at CitizenCon 2023? In October 2023, new information about Squadron 42 was finally revealed at the Star Citizen expo. A new 27-minute trailer excited the community. However, immediately after the trailer, no specific release date was mentioned again.
Nevertheless, Chris Roberts was able to surprise the fans on-site and those watching the stream. He proudly announced that Squadron 42 is now “feature-complete,” and the completion of the single-player story is thus drawing nearer.
Roadmap
In December 2020, Chris Roberts released his annual “Letter from the Chairman” to reflect on the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42.
In this context, a new, revised roadmap for both development areas was also released. CIG made an effort to present current goals and milestones more transparently and specifically to interested players.
How informative is the roadmap? The “Public Roadmap Companion” provides more details on the “Progress Tracker” within the roadmap. Here, quarterly milestones of the overall development are listed.
However, there are still no specific release dates to be found here either. The mentioned times are meant for individual tasks to be completed. This does not mean that they will actually be done by then.
When will new updates be released? In addition to the Progress Tracker, there is another tab in the roadmap. In the “Release View” section, you can get insights into the upcoming patches for the game client in alpha state and their planned content.
This includes gameplay mechanics, new locations and ships, as well as other means of transportation. These new features are supposed to be integrated into the game quarterly. However, CIG does not rule out delayed releases due to longer development times.
What is SQ42’s current status? According to the announcement at CitizenCon 2023, the entries for Squadron 42 now include the following note: “Polishing – fine-tuning and refinement of all aspects of the player experience of Squadron 42.”
In a newsletter from early 2024, CIG further elaborates on the details of the polishing. This development report mentions specifics on the progress of the campaign, highlighting a total of 10 areas where the various SQ42 teams are currently working.
Leaks
Manufacturers regularly try to close leaks within their ranks when it comes to confidential content. Sources with information not intended for the public are also considered a major problem for the developers.
What leaks are known? Unauthorized releases cannot be completely avoided by game developers. And so, a 9-minute video showing in-engine footage emerged last in October 2022.
The leaked material was already said to be a year old at the time of its disclosure. Nonetheless, it is still newer than the most recently released video by CIG from late 2019. You can find the video here on YouTube.
Have there been new leaks since then? Yes, and the information contained temporarily caused great excitement. The leak included a roadmap with a supposed release of Squadron 42 in the first quarter of 2025 and a release of the MMO spin-off in the version for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Fans and experts strongly doubt the authenticity of the mentioned information. Release dates provided by CIG until 2020 have not been met. At CitizenCon 2023, however, Chris Roberts promised the fans that they would be the first to know when it happens.
For some time now, Squadron 42 can no longer be purchased individually in the CIG shop. All combo packages, which in addition to access to the game also include a starter ship, have been quietly removed from the shop.
Currently, there is only one store offer that includes a game package with Squadron 42. This costs around 1200 euros and is therefore uninteresting for most.
For concierge members who have already invested 1000 euros or more in Star Citizen, there are further game packages with SQ42. These packages with prices ranging from 1400 to 16,600 euros definitely target a different buyer demographic.
Why can’t Squadron 42 be purchased at regular prices anymore? According to a statement from a CIG employee, Squadron 42 was removed in order to bring it back to the store with a price adjustment at a later time.
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Knebel, a well-known YouTuber and streamer for Star Citizen, has thought about this and elaborated on possible reasons for the removal in this video.
Option 1: Upcoming price adjustment
Is the price simply increasing? Knebel suspects a price adjustment as the reason less likely. CIG has in the past adjusted prices in the shop at short notice. If the packages that contain Squadron 42 are to be fundamentally revised, the developer could have simply communicated this openly.
Option 2: Legal disputes
Has Chris Roberts been sued? Officially it is said that the game was removed from the shop for a price adjustment. However, there could perhaps be a lawsuit against CIG, as the developers have thus far offered a product for sale without a concrete release date. To protect themselves from further lawsuits, the statement on the price adjustment could be used as a pretext.
Option 3: Is an imminent release with the announcement of a concrete date following?
What does CIG plan? As has been mentioned several times, Chris Roberts and Co. are no longer making any comments about a release and specific timeline for a publication. However, one might now suspect that CIG has removed all content related to Squadron 42 from the store to work in the background on announcing a full version after the “feature-complete” announcement.
Once the complete campaign with all features is playable, they could justify increasing the price with this reason and make it available for purchase again in the store.
At CitizenCon 2023, although many new details were revealed, the campaign did not find its way back into the online shop afterwards. At least not at affordable prices.
When is the perfect time for a release? In the spotlight of an upcoming CitizenCon would be the ideal time to either release Squadron 42 or at least mention a concrete date. This way, a new source of revenue for further development of the main game would arise, and CIG might complete their overall project faster.
This third possibility is seen by the streamer and YouTuber as the most likely. Whether this actually happens, he and we cannot know.
These were our updates on release, roadmap, and leaks for Star Citizen – Squadron 42.
What do you think about the current information situation? Do you regularly check the playable alpha versions and follow the development yourself, or do you believe that Star Citizen and Squadron 42 will never be fully released?
There will also be waves of layoffs in the gaming industry in 2024. Riot Games has now announced in its own blog post that it will have to lay off employees. This will affect many of the company’s smaller projects.
In a new blog post from Riot, CEO Dylan Jadeja announced that 530 employees from Riot Games worldwide will be laid off. This represents 11 % of the company. He cites the reason that since 2019, many new employees were hired for new projects and ideas, but these projects have not generated the expected returns.
According to Jadeja, the costs have become unsustainable to take risks and experiments:
Our costs have risen to a point where they are no longer bearable, and we have left no room for experiments or failures – which is vital for a creative company like ours.
The layoffs will also affect some smaller projects from Riot. Riot Forge, the publishing label that has released games from indie developers, will be shut down after Bandle Tale and will no longer develop smaller games for the time being.
A total of 6 games have been released under the label A League of Legends Story:
Hextech Mayhem
Ruined King
Convergence
Song of Nunu
Mageseeker
Bandle Tale (Releasing on February 21)
More about Bandle Tale can be found in this article:
The card game Legends of Runterra will also be affected by these layoffs. Although the game has a loving community, the costs of the game have reportedly been challenging since release, as development costs more than the game generates, according to Jadeja.
The Legends of Runterra team will be reduced and they want to focus on the PvE mode The Path of Champions. This mode is the most popular among players. More information about Legends of Runterra is expected in the coming weeks.
In the future, Riot Games aims to focus primarily on its biggest games: League of Legends, Valorant, TFT, and Wildrift. Their vision is more ambitious than ever. According to the blog post, new modes, events, and a long-term road map can be expected. Additionally, their strategy is to link esports, music, and entertainment even closer with our games.
Two projects are mentioned separately in the blog post, as their production is supposed to continue despite the layoffs. The fighting game Project L is making great progress, and Arcane Season 2 is still aiming for a November 2024 release. Furthermore, additional projects are planned.
Riot Games promises that the laid-off employees will receive some support and assistance for the upcoming time. In addition to a minimum 6-month severance payment, Riot will also provide bonus payments and continue to assist with health insurance for a certain period.
A new tactical shooter on Steam may not show any gameplay in its first trailer, but it definitely makes players laugh with its humorous and surprising nature, and sparks curiosity for more.
What kind of game is this? Ascendant Infinity is a tactical shooter announced on Steam that promises not only a lot of humor but also constantly new fights and events that change the game repeatedly.
In the team-based shooter, you fight in a team of three players against three other teams.
You have access to a wide variety of weapons and unlimited customization options.
You can choose your playstyle individually, going on the offensive, lying in wait, launching airstrikes, or using tools like tear gas.
Your goal will be to grab targeted resources from the map and safely transport them home.
We don’t learn much about the gameplay from the trailer, but it definitely seems that the developers want to stand out with humor:
Start video
The Shooter Ascendant Infinity on Steam is in the sitcom trailer
A shooter or a sitcom? The trailer shows: The trailer primarily shows that Ascendant Infinity is not meant to be a deadly serious shooter. Like in the preview of a classic sitcom from the 80s, the trailer introduces some characters from the game.
You seem to be meeting a few heroes who then smile awkwardly into the camera after their action and are presented with their names. Everything is complemented by cheerful music that also fits the mood of a funny sitcom.
However, a few dangerous snails are also introduced, the bioreactor – played by “Abraham Lincoln” – or the giant monster Gorlizard – played by “your mother.” A few positions that you will probably be able to take in the game are also introduced in the trailer. Among them are the thief, the extractor, or the “bioreactor grabber.”
What are the reactions? Although the trailer does not reveal much about the game, the reactions from players (via YouTube) are quite positive, as they find this sitcom humor to be quite enjoyable.
For instance, user-vi5tp4xd8i writes that it hurts how clever and funny the trailer is. User ignacioramirez5651 shares a similar opinion and even writes: “Best trailer ever, I will play it just for that.”
User michaelambrose1 comments: “I can’t remember the last time a trailer made me laugh… great.”
The Druid is considered one of the best classes for the endgame. He is a true survivor in Diablo 4 and can also deal massive damage. We now show you a build that gives your opponents no chance to catch their breath in the endgame.
What kind of build is this? This is a werewolf and storm build, with which you can easily walk through many enemies in the endgame without problems. Especially when you are in nightmare dungeons and many enemies want to overwhelm you, you will have no trouble defending yourself.
The build was featured on maxroll.gg by the expert Moxsy. We have listed it here for you.
This is how to play the build: Activate your Hurricane and Grizzly Wrath shortly before your battle. Now use your Storm until it is fully charged. Once it has reached its maximum size, just tap your key manually.
In combat, you then rotate between Cyclone Armor and Blood Howl. When your Spirit is full, use the armor, and when it is low, use your howl. You should always use Hurricane on cooldown. If you come out of your werewolf form and Grizzly Wrath is still on cooldown, use Blood Howl and Wind Shear to regenerate Spirit.
But keep away from large groups of enemies, because otherwise you will not be able to free yourself if they have surrounded you.
Druid Storm Build: Paragon and Glyphs
These Paragon boards are required:
Desire for Carnage
Fortified Malice
Struck by Lightning
Inner Beast
Constraining Vines (when fully built)
These Glyphs are required:
Territorial – Start
Shock – Desire for Carnage
Earth and Sky – Fortified Malice
Unload – Struck by Lightning
Guardian – Inner Beast (level this glyph first)
Spirit – Constraining Vines
Storm Build for Endgame: Legendaries, Gems & Values
These Legendaries & Uniques are needed:
Unique: Storm Roar – Head Protection (must be found)
Unique: Wrap of the Unsung Ascetic – Gloves (must be found)
Unique: Delight of the Mad Wolf – Chest (must be found)
Aspect of Disobedience – Leg Protection (Halls of the Damned, Kehjistan)
Wind-raging Aspect or Aspect of Dark Howling – Boots (Shivta Ruins, Kehjistan or must be found)
In the extraction shooter Escape from Tarkov, quick reaction times determine victory or defeat. To react quickly to opponents, a high frame rate is also important. We show you the best graphics settings for a performance boost with more FPS.
The article was first published in early 2024. We revised the article on January 23, 2024, and made some adjustments.
Last update: January 23, 2024
In fast-paced fights, which are especially common in shooters, your own reaction time often counts. If you’re too slow, you’ll be on the ground and your opponent will stand triumphantly over you.
However, the graphical performance of your system can also decide whether you can finish a round successfully.
With our recommendations for the graphics options in Escape from Tarkov, you can get more FPS out of your graphics card and stay one step ahead of your opponents even on new maps.
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Escape from Tarkov: Arena announces launch of the closed beta
Where can you find the options? You can access the game options through the main menu → there click on the gear icon in the bottom right → all options will be displayed here → now select the graphics tab:
Screen resolution: Choose the resolution of your monitor
Screen mode: Full screen (choose borderless if you want to access content on your second monitor)
Aspect ratio: 16×9
Vsync: Disabled
Overall graphics quality: Custom
Texture quality: Medium
Shadow quality: Low
Object LOD quality: 2 – 2.5 (Maximum value for players with sniper)
Total visibility distance: 400 – 1500 (Maximum value for players with sniper)
Anti-aliasing: TAA high (For even more FPS only TAA; only selectable if DLSS is disabled)
Resampling: 1x off (Only selectable if DLSS is disabled)
NVIDIA DLSS: On (From GeForce RTX 2000 series)
AMD FSR 1.0: On (Use FSR 2.2 if possible)
AMD FSR 2.2: On (Can also be used for Intel and GeForce GTX 1000 graphics cards)
HBAO: Off
SSR: Off
Anisotropic filtering: Off
Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: on + boost
Sharpness: 0.2 – 0.5
Lobby FPS limit: 60
Game FPS limit: 144 (Current maximum limit set by the game)
High-quality color: Disabled
Z-Blur: Disabled
Chromatic aberrations: Disabled
Noise: Disabled
Grass shadows: Disabled
Mip streaming: Disabled (Can make sense with less than 6 GB video memory; however, the game must be installed on an SSD)
Lower texture resolution in Streets of Tarkov: Enabled
Here are more settings you should adjust in the options. You can find these in the Game tab in the options window:
Automatic RAM cleaner: On (If 16 GB of RAM or less is installed)
Use only physical cores: On
Field of view: 70-75
Head movement: 0.2
How can you display the FPS in the game? The fastest and easiest way to display the FPS in the game is provided by Escape from Tarkov itself. To do this, you need to do the following:
Press the ‘ key in the game to open the command line.
Now type “fps 1” and press Enter
The FPS should now be displayed in the game
Should you install the latest graphics driver? Yes, definitely. Usually, Nvidia and AMD regularly deliver new graphics card drivers. These not only provide the usual bug fixes but also quality and especially performance optimizations for current titles. Therefore, it is advisable to keep your graphics driver updated.
Palworld has taken off since its early access release on January 19, setting new sales records. The survival shooter allows you to catch Pokémon-like creatures, equip them with firearms, and even use them for food. Meanwhile, there are also statements from the well-known animal rights organization PETA.
Why is there a statement about Palworld from an animal rights organization? Palworld is a survival shooter in which you apparently start a new life on an island after being shipwrecked. The creatures living there, known as Pals, can be caught and made to fight for you.
In Palworld, however, you can also make your Pals work for you in your camp, give the cute creatures firearms, and process them into food.
The animal rights organization PETA has been criticizing Nintendo and the Pokémon games since 2012 for practices such as catching and making the pocket monsters fight. Accordingly, a statement from them regarding a similar game like Palworld is expected.
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Palworld: How you can level up quickly
What does PETA say about Palworld? The animal rights organization PETA commented via X.com (formerly Twitter) with a statement and a video about Palworld. In it, they write: We have always seen ourselves as experts in Pokémon parodies, but Palworld has taken the genre to new lows. Palworld makes Team Rocket look like the good guys.
You can view the original post and the video here:
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Instead, PETA Vice President Elisa Allen talked about how she had heard from many fans who did not want to eat their Pals. They were very interested in a guide on how to play the game vegan: After all, it’s Veganuary.
What is Veganuary?
Veganuary is made up of the two words vegan and January, which refers to an annual event where people voluntarily switch their diet completely to vegan, meaning free from animal products of all kinds. The period for this is the month of January.
Is it possible to choose a pacifist or even vegan route in Palworld? Choosing a vegan or pacifist route in Palworld is partly possible but difficult: Consuming or using Pal products is an essential part of the game mechanics.
It is possible to fully nourish your character with berries and bread. Accordingly, you can do without meat or even eggs from Pals. However, Pals also drop resources like wool, which are fundamentally important for crafting certain items like armor.
It is still unclear whether it is generally possible to get through the game without killing. There are also human opponents who confront you with firearms. This could be avoided by trapping living but weakened enemies in Palspheres. Whether this tactic works is questionable.
In general: If you want to catch wild Pals, for example, and not kill them, make sure not to have a already tamed Pal wandering around with you: Pals that belong to you will automatically jump into attack mode when you start fighting another Pal. This could cause the target Pal to die before you can trap it in a Palsphere.
With Season 3, every class receives a new unique item in Diablo 4, which is expected to allow for some pretty strong builds. Blizzard has now expanded the patch notes and revealed: The uniques can be found with the Beast in the Ice. Just the mention alone is enough to make fans groan. A side note makes the grind significantly more bearable.
What are these uniques?
In Season 3, each class gets one new unique and another that is available to all classes. You can find the items listed in the patch notes for Season 3 for each class.
With the uniques, new builds should be possible. Sorceresses, for instance, can cast Meteor with their new helm without spending any mana and summon more meteors per cast. The Meteor build is already a contender for the best builds in Season 3.
Blizzard has now expanded the patch notes with a few sentences that explain which dungeons are in the rotation for Season 3 and with information on where to obtain the uniques (via Diablo Forums).
This is how you obtain the uniques: Like every item, you can initially find the new uniques all over. However, the chance of obtaining them is generally quite low, and you have no influence over which specific item you will receive.
However, the new unique class items will be added to the loot table of the Beast in the Ice in Season 3. It is one of the bosses from which you can explicitly farm uniques. The Beast receives the 6 uniques in addition to its existing loot table,
Exactly this is now causing discontent within the community. Because the Beast only appears in a specific dungeon that you must open up first with some effort. You need a considerable grind to even reach the boss. However, this is now faster.
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Diablo 4: The Announcement Trailer for Season 3
The Beast in the Ice is easier to summon in Season 3
On Reddit and elsewhere, players are complaining that they are supposed to visit the Beast in the Ice for targeted farming. The Beast itself only awaits in its specific dungeon, the Glacier Chasm, near Kyovashad.
To summon it, you need certain items:
Refined Fear can be obtained from Nightmare dungeons starting from world tier 4.
You then bring 9 units of this material to the Occultist.
Every time you want to fight the Beast in the Ice, you need this material. What makes the boss additionally annoying are its attacks. You need high frost resistance and must be able to dodge well; otherwise, the Beast will tear you apart. The fight is considered quite challenging, especially before you have really strong equipment.
However, Blizzard has revealed that Refined Fear will drop more frequently in Season 3. In a Nightmare dungeon starting from level 30, you are guaranteed to receive one Fear at the end. For every 10 levels above that, there is a chance for an additional one. From level 90, you are guaranteed to receive 3 units of Refined Fear.
If you are far enough and can grind high dungeons, you will only need 3 Nightmare dungeons to guarantee the summoning of the Beast. Additionally, you have extra chances for uniques from the dungeons themselves.
