In Pokémon GO, there are 3 events this weekend that you can join. Find out what they are here.
What is it about? Every month there are various events in Pokémon GO that you can participate in. In these, you can often receive various good Pokémon that are available for a limited time, or other good rewards in the form of items.
This weekend, there are a total of 3 events waiting for you in Pokémon GO. We’ll list exactly what they are and what awaits you in the events here.
Trailer for the current season Timeless Journeys.
Start video
Pokémon GO shows the new season “Timeless Travels” in the trailer
Community Day with Rowlet
What kind of event is this? As usual, there will be a Community Day in January as well. This time, Rowlet, one of the starter Pokémon from the Alola region, will be in the spotlight. In addition to an increased shiny chance and an exclusive move, there are also strong bonuses waiting for you in the event.
If you want to learn more, feel free to check out the Guide to the Community Day with Rowlet. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about this event.
When is the event? The Community Day will take place on Saturday, January 6, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
White Odyssey event with Lycanroc in its Dusk Form
What kind of event is this?The White Odyssey event comes with various wild Pokémon, raids, bonuses, and field research. The most important part of the event is the debut of Lycanroc in its Dusk Form, which can evolve from Rockruff.
What kind of event is this? Shadow Articuno returns in Shadow Raids waiting for you to defeat and catch it. This very strong fire and flying-type Pokémon is one of the strongest attackers for your raid teams in these types, so you should have it in your team if you don’t already own it.
When is the event? Shadow Articuno will be available over the next 3 weekends.
January 6 6:00 AM to January 7 10:00 PM
January 13 6:00 AM to January 14 10:00 PM
January 20 6:00 AM to January 21 10:00 PM
What about you? Are there any events this weekend that interest you and that you will participate in? Of course, there are also other events in January 2024 in Pokémon GO waiting for you.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The superhero MMORPG City of Heroes was shut down in 2021 by developer NCSoft. Some fans did not give up on the game and opened private servers where the MMORPG continued to run. They feared serious consequences, but now there is a positive message for them.
Although the game was so popular, it was discontinued in December 2012. According to NCSoft, it was no longer worth running the servers. Revenue plummeted, and NCSoft had three other MMORPGs that were in the wings.
How did fans react to the closure? Some fan groups did not accept the closure and decided to open their own private servers. For example, there was a server that only fans could access who received a private invitation.
In the following trailer, you can see what kind of game City of Heroes was:
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City of Heroes – Trailer zum Free2Play-Wechsel
Fans open private servers, developer gives the green light
Over time, more and more private servers opened. The “Homecoming” server, with around 100,000 players, is no longer based on the original version of NCSoft, but has even developed its own content.
What was the problem? The servers were operated without permission from NCSoft. Therefore, there was a risk that the servers could be shut down and the operators could be sued. The operators collected donations to be financially secure.
For years, the developer team at NCSoft did not react and accepted the private servers as they were. However, the fans behind the unofficial project announced that NCSoft had contacted them yesterday.
How has NCSoft reacted now? The team behind the largest server “Homecoming” announced that NCSoft has no plans to kill the fan project (via Homecoming forum). Even more: The company even granted the official license to continue operating private servers. NCSoft remains the owner of the IP.
This means:
All characters and accounts are secure
New content is being worked on
The Homecoming server remains completely free
The developers still continue to accept donations
However, these regulations apply only to Homecoming. Other private servers are not affected by this permission and could be shut down. The Homecoming team hopes that this will lead players to switch to their server and that the community will centralize.
As part of the deal, the developers behind the fan project must provide an “internal installation and patching solution.” Therefore, the team has developed its own Homecoming launcher.
Could the servers still be shut down in the future? Theoretically, it is possible that NCSoft could shut down the private servers. They still possess the right to do so. But the fans remain optimistic and made it clear that there is a positive and productive relationship between them and NCSoft.
If you are into superhero MMOs, MeinMMO has more content for you:
A young man stole a lot of money in the USA. He used various tricks and scammed almost half a million euros. Now he reveals how he went about it to protect future victims.
A man in the United States, who is serving a 94-month prison sentence for stealing hundreds of iPhones, has revealed his criminal secret and explained how to protect oneself from such thefts.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (Paywall), he explained how he allegedly earned around 300,000 euros solely through the theft of iPhones and manipulating the installed financial apps. Supposedly, it was even much more money.
Perpetrator has phone handed over to change passwords
How did the thief proceed? In a conversation with the online magazine, he explained that he primarily targeted young men: because they are usually significantly more inattentive than women. They were also an easy target because “they are already drunk and do not know what is really going on.”
The perpetrator approached his victims, offered them various items, or explained that he was a rapper and wanted to take a photo with them.
The victims then handed him their iPhone and expected him to type in his phone number and immediately give it back to them.
He then claimed that the phone had locked itself, and the victims willingly told him the passcode.
He then used that information to change the password for the Apple ID, disabled tracking features like “Find My iPhone,” and added his own biometric data to FaceID.
What happened next? Thanks to FaceID, he could easily access banking and crypto apps and search for sensitive information like social security numbers. He then allegedly drained bank accounts overnight and shopped with Apple Pay in the following days. In this way, he got easy “earned” money.
In the conversation with the Wall Street Journal, he explained that he wanted to reveal his criminal tricks also because he wanted to help future victims of such acts protect themselves.
I am already in prison. I just feel that I should try to stand on the other side of things and help people.
What is his most important tip for the future? This is probably not surprising, but the 26-year-old explains that under no circumstances should you share your passwords. No matter the timing. Because that would open the door wide for any perpetrator. Or as Fortnite warns in every second loading screen: “Passwords are like toothbrushes – you don’t share them!”
By the way, you can find tips and hints for strong passwords directly on MeinMMO:
What has changed since then? With the update to iOS 17.3, Apple introduced a feature to protect stolen devices. This feature intentionally causes a one-hour delay before changes to passwords and Face or Touch IDs can be made when a phone or another device is used in an unknown location.
If your iPhone is taken from you, thieves will not be able to change important passwords and IDs at least for a short period of time.
However, your passcode is still important: Despite the new features, Apple Pay can still be used with your passcode to make payments – despite the new security mechanisms.
The German director Uwe Boll wanted to secure the rights to the Warcraft film. The rejection came promptly at that time – as they already knew him.
Even though the release of the film “Warcraft – The Beginning” was almost 8 years ago, fans still often talk about the film. Many hope for a sequel or hope that Blizzard will highlight another part of the story of World of Warcraft – such as the rise of the Lich King.
But even though the film was economically “okay” primarily due to its success in China and most were at least satisfied (if not thrilled) with the adaptation: it could have been much worse.
For many do not know: Uwe Boll also wanted to be the director of the Warcraft film. And we should all be glad that we escaped that timeline.
Who is Uwe Boll? Uwe Boll is a German director who has a bad reputation among gamers – mainly because of his video game adaptations, which not only often deviate significantly from the source material but are also objectively just not good films. His works include:
Postal
King’s Swords – Dungeon Siege
BloodRayne
Alone in the Dark
Far Cry
For several of his films, he was nominated for the negative award “Golden Raspberries”, and in some cases, he even won them (e.g., for Postal and Dungeon Siege).
What did Uwe Boll say? In a conversation with MTV News, Uwe Boll revealed at that time that he had also sought the rights to the Warcraft film. However, his idea of adaptation would probably have looked very different – also because he does not think highly of WoW fans or gamers in general:
You try to do that, to satisfy the fans, but on the other hand, you have these hardcore gamers, who live in their own world. You can’t meet their ideas of a film based on a video game, that’s impossible. And to be honest, the real gamers are anyway the typical download guys, right? They don’t pay for movies because they just download the movies illegally. So why should I satisfy those people? I need the normal viewers.
Blizzard’s response, however, was quite clear:
I contacted Paul Sams from Blizzard and he said: ‘We will not sell the film rights to you… especially not to you.’ […] Because it is such a major success as an online game, maybe a bad film would have destroyed that ongoing income that [Blizzard] earns from it.
Even though the Warcraft film probably did not fully meet the expectations of many fans and a sequel seems unlikely – maybe we should be grateful for what we got.
The developers of World of Warcraft have significantly buffed the legendary axe. Many are pleased about it – but some just cannot get the axe.
In World of Warcraft Dragonflight, there is a weapon that all Paladins, Death Knights, and Warriors are currently craving: Fyr’alath. The legendary weapon of Fyrakk can drop at the end of the raid “Amirdrassil, Hope of the Dream” – at least in theory. A legendary weapon is considered “the best” during its active time, hence naturally the “Best in Slot” that a hero can wield.
However, in the case of Fyr’alath, this was not the case. The weapon was so weak at the start that Blizzard had to push a hotfix after just a few weeks. Now, another buff for the weapon has come – and as a result, it becomes significantly more powerful in AoE situations.
The trailer for the current patch:
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WoW: Guardians of the Dream – Launch Trailer
What buffs have already been given to Fyr’alath? In the first round, Blizzard changed the debuff that Fyr’alath leaves on affected enemies. The debuff was modified so that it now also benefits from haste, meaning it ticks faster on the victims, resulting in more damage dealt in a shorter time. At the same time, since the change, the debuff could also deal critical hits, thus causing even more damage (via wowhead).
What buffs have there been now? With a hotfix on January 3, 2024, Blizzard modified Fyr’alath once again. The maximum stacks of “Fury of Fyr’alath” have been increased from 5 to 50 – an increase of 900%.
This allows Fyr’alath to consume more of these stacks and thus increase its own damage not “only” by 50%, but by a whopping 500%. This makes the weapon significantly stronger, especially in AoE situations, and it is likely to ensure that you perceive Fyr’alath as a larger part of your damage dealt, especially in dungeons and trash fights.
What is the problem with Fyr’alath? For most players, the “problem” is that they simply cannot obtain Fyr’alath. Although there is a system that slowly but surely increases the drop chance of the weapon, many are rather frustrated by it. Because even though WoW keeps saying that the drop chance has increased, characters cannot see a clear value for it and then question whether the drop chance is actually increasing or if it is just a claim without effect.
In the WoW subreddit, memes and criticisms from frustrated players, who have still not come into possession of the legendary weapon, are piling up:
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The new MMORPG Throne and Liberty has been running in Korea for about a month. A major streamer testing the game there has now explained how Pay2Win the new MMORPG is.
Who is it about? The Twitch streamer Kanon is one of the largest Throne and Liberty streamers. He is already playing in Korea with a guild of international players, most of whom play Free2Play.
Shortly after the MMORPG’s release, he already talked about Pay2Win in Throne and Liberty (via YouTube), and now he has released an update video on the subject on his YouTube channel.
You can watch the trailer for Throne and Liberty here.
Start video
Throne and Liberty – NCSoft presents the launch trailer
Kanon says: “Systematically, this game is 100% Pay2Win”
Is Throne and Liberty Pay2Win? The YouTuber reports that in the Korean version, almost all items needed for progress can be purchased on the marketplace for real money.
Only real money can be used to make purchases on the marketplace. To mitigate this, Free2Play players have the option to sell many of the obtained items on the marketplace, thus gaining premium currency.
Especially in the first month, there is a low supply of goods in Korea. Therefore, Free2Play players have not fallen significantly behind those who spend money on their items.
It is important to mention that Kanon only reports on the Korean version of the game. How it will look upon release for us is still unknown.
So, let me break this down briefly: This game is systematically 100% Pay2Win. However, the Pay2Win in its current state is not necessarily bad, simply due to the way equipping is designed and the focus on trading as well as the availability of these “best-in-slot” / purple items on the marketplace.
Kanon in the video
The term “Pay2Win” is defined differently by most people. Kanon states in his video that you can buy items in the shop that provide advantages, but these would also be available to Free2Play players.
You can watch the full video here.
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What can you buy? You are supposed to be able to buy gear of the highest level and also the corresponding materials to upgrade the gear.
Gold is also supposed to be easy to come by. Here, the streamer mentions that there are items that cost little premium currency but can be sold for a lot of gold at the merchant.
The streamer says that he is only aware of one thing that cannot currently be bought with real money, which is a material needed for leveling skills. All other relevant items for progression are purchasable on the marketplace.
Is it worth playing as a Free2Play player? Yes, according to Kanon, it is still worth it. While you can buy the most important items in the game, these will still be farmed by guilds.
The items can then either be given to the guild’s players or put up for sale on the marketplace. This way, the items will primarily end up in the hands of those who participate in raids and guild events.
Kanon reports here on the monetization of Throne and Liberty in South Korea. We do not yet know what the systems will look like when the game launches on Steam in 2024 in Europe.
At the end of the video, Kanon also points out that as the supply of items on the marketplace increases, it will become easier for players to purchase good gear with real money. However, those who actively play as Free2Play players from the beginning should not fall far behind. Asmongold is also disappointed by the possible Pay2Win in the game but wants to play it 100%.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Baldur’s Gate 3 players keep coming up with cool ideas. Someone has now pushed their armor class so high that they became almost unbeatable as a result. MeinMMO reveals the details.
The Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3 is known for its challenging fights, especially for newcomers to the genre. With the Honour Mode the role-playing game has now introduced a tough difficulty level that can also make life difficult for veterans.
A recently discovered way to become virtually untouchable in this complex world comes from a player who raised their armor class to an incredible 31 and thus became practically invincible.
Start video
5 helpful tips for Baldur’s Gate 3
Player cranks their armor class up so high that they become almost unbeatable
The player Yervax has shared their method with the community on Reddit. By skillfully combining items, they pushed their armor class (AC) so high that attacks are almost ineffective against them.
This is how their armor class builds up:
+ 17 base armor from the chest Armor of Agility
+ 5 dexterity, also from the chest
+ 4 from the shield
+ 1 from Ring of Protection
+ 1 from Cloak of Protection
+1 from Evasive Shoes
+1 from Troubadour’s Wonder
+1 from Protective Band
Here you can see the post:
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Yervax himself describes himself as unbeatable: Except for the rare crit and saving throws, no attacks touch me. Ever.
Spoiler: The article contains spoilers about all 3 acts from here.
How to get the items
Ring of Protection: The ring is particularly strong but really tricky to get. To do this, you need to steal the idol of Sylvanus, which is located at coordinates X: 252, Y: 517 in the Emerald Grove – in the sacred pool of the grove. You will then receive the reward from Mol.
Note that the druids are hostile towards you and act aggressively towards tieflings if you steal the idol without a certain method. We reveal a trick that you can use here. But I wouldn’t recommend the trick in Honour Mode since you can’t reload the game and thus only have one attempt, which can go very wrong.
Cloak of Protection: You can easily buy the cloak in Act 2, namely in front of the inn At the Last Light from the quartermaster Talli.
Evasive Shoes: You can also buy the shoes at the inn At the Last Light in Act 2 from the tiefling boy Mattis. However, this is only possible if you saved the tieflings in Act 1 beforehand.
Wondrous Gloves: You can already obtain the gloves in Act 1 at the Grymforge. They drop there in a hideout from a Mimic.
Protective Band: The spell is a good buff for your team. With the protective band, the target receives a bonus to saving throws, resistances, and +1 to the armor class. Clerics can cast the 2nd-level spell. Additionally, there are two rings in Act 2 that allow you to cast the spell with any class.
Armor of Agility: You can buy the chest piece in Act 3 from Gloomy Fentonson in the Undercity.
Shield: You can loot the shield in Hope’s House of Hope if you decide to kill her.
With an impressive armor class of 31, Yervax has solved the challenges of Baldur’s Gate 3 in a creative way. This is once again a good example of the almost endless possibilities in Baldur’s Gate 3 to prepare for battle.
In Pokémon GO there is a notification that many trainers are complaining about. What exactly it is about, you will find out here.
What is it about? When you complete a raid in Pokémon GO, you have the opportunity to catch the defeated Pokémon. For this, you have special Poké Balls available, known as Premier Balls. The number of balls you receive depends on various factors such as the damage dealt or the speed of the trainers in the raid battle.
In addition to the Premier Balls, you have the option to catch the Pokémon with another ball. This is the Master Ball, which you can only obtain very rarely and with difficulty through special research in the game. Therefore, you should also consider which Pokémon is worth using the Master Ball on.
When you reach the last ball to catch the Pokémon, you can see a special pop-up in the game that informs you that you can only throw one more ball before the Pokémon flees. This pop-up seems to appear in the game only when you have a Master Ball. And it is this pop-up that is now being discussed in the community.
Trainer is annoyed by the feature, receives support and backlash from the community
What does the trainer say? A trainer on Reddit is annoyed by this notification and wishes he could turn it off. When asked what bothers him about it, he replies: The additional stress. Does it change anything about the fact that I’m already on my last ball? No. Does Niantic need to remind me that it’s my last attempt? Also no.
We embed the Reddit post here:
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While the trainer receives encouragement from other members of the community, there are also other voices on the subject. It’s crazy that people asked for this feature when the Master Ball just came out. It shows that you really can’t please everyone, reads one comment. Another trainer writes: My God! What can you hate about this 1-second animation that you see very rarely?
There is also a discussion that this feature is only meant for one purpose: It won’t be displayed if you don’t have a Master Ball in your pocket. The whole point of this feature is to make you use your Master Ball. Aside from the entire discussion, there is also a humorous tip for the trainer: You can turn it off by catching it earlier.
What do you think about it? Does this notification annoy you too, or do you find it helpful? Would you also like to have the option to deactivate it? Let us know in the comments!
Magic To Master is an upcoming MMORPG on Steam. The game aims to strike a similar chord as Metin 2 and is oriented towards an East Asian aesthetic. However, this game has received rather negative attention so far.
What is Magic To Master?
The fantasy MMORPG actually originated in 2009 but is now set to be revived.
Visually, it is oriented towards East Asian aesthetics.
With 4 classes, you can test your skills in PvE and PvP in Hack’n Slash fights.
In addition to the classes, there should be 4 different dynasties and 2 strong factions, each offering unique abilities.
Classic systems such as mounts, crafting, and guilds are also set to be part of the game.
In a new trailer, the game presented a rough release date in February and additionally promotes keywords like Immersive Storyline and an epic world. You can watch the trailer here:
Start video
Magic To Master – Trailer presents new release date for the Steam MMO
Problems with Metin 2 and False Ratings
Due to its East Asian-oriented graphics and action-packed combat system, the game strongly resembles Metin2. For the publisher Gameforge, the similarity seemed too great, which is why the publisher took legal action against the studio Laniatus Games over suspected use of materials from Metin2.
Shortly after the campaign launched, the game made headlines because the Kickstarter trailer boasted about great critic ratings that were all fabricated. According to their own statements, these were just placeholders that were forgotten before the trailer was released. You can find more about this in this article:
After these two negative news, there was a period of silence around Magic To Master, but the studio returned and released the release trailer at the beginning of the year.
Next month, one can get a concrete picture of Master To Magic if it is released then. However, you can also sign up for a playtest on the Steam page now; perhaps you have the chance to take a look beforehand.
In recent weeks and months, a Steam game has been considered a major scam:
In EA FC 24, you can select your personal Team of the Year (TOTY) starting Monday, January 8. The list of all nominees is already official.We will present all Bundesliga players who are on the candidate lists.
What is the TOTY? The TOTY includes the players who, in the opinion of the community, have shown the strongest performances on the football pitch. Especially fans of the Bundesliga are happy when the stars of their favorite clubs appear on the list.
We will look at all Bundesliga stars below and try to justify the nominations.
These Bundesliga stars are nominated for the TOTY
Goalkeepers + Defense:
Gregor Kobel (GK) – Borussia Dortmund: The Dortmund player was undoubtedly one of the outstanding performers in 2023. Many games were decided in favor of BVB, primarily thanks to the strong support of the Swiss. He kept a clean sheet 11 times in the Bundesliga, averaged 3 saves per game, and conceded only one goal per match on average.
Alejandro Grimaldo (LB) – Bayer Leverkusen: One of the best, if not the best free transfer of the past summer. The strong left winger has already collected 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 16 games this season. Even in the second half of the 22/23 season, still playing for Benfica, Grimaldo impressed with strong performances.
Min Jae Kim (CB) – FC Bayern Munich: The South Korean had a fantastic season with Napoli and quickly became the defensive leader for Bayern this season. He usually appears very composed. Minor positioning errors can often be mitigated by his tremendous speed.
Mats Hummels (CB) – Borussia Dortmund: Few would have expected such consistency from Mats Hummels at the international level. In the current season, Hummels has risen again to the defensive leader and shines with excellent positioning, well-timed tackles, and smart build-up play, as always.
Jeremie Frimpong (RB) – Bayer Leverkusen: The lightning-fast right winger is a very invigorating element for the offense. Frimpong has already shined this and last season with multiple goals and assists. Under coach Xabi Alonso, the Dutchman is becoming more stable defensively as well.
Midfield:
Granit Xhaka (CDM) – Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka is the thinker and playmaker in midfield and can especially bring his experience into the game perfectly. He is not afraid to do the “dirty work” for his teammates and is one of the aggressive leaders in the central midfield. Due to his strong season with FC Arsenal last season, he is rightfully a candidate for the TOTY.
Jamal Musiala (CM) – FC Bayern: The German dribbler is the promise for the future in the German national team and already a man for important moments at FC Bayern. Even if he cannot always perform consistently, he can still deliver outstanding actions even on an average day. He combines unique technique with tremendous speed.
Julian Brandt (CM) – Borussia Dortmund: After the departure of Bellingham, Julian Brandt has become the sole offensive strategist and the link between defense and attack. The Dortmund player, especially in the second half of last season, played a major role in Dortmund’s comeback, which almost led to the championship title. In a currently average season for BVB, the German is among the better players.
Vincenzo Grifo (LM) – SC Freiburg: The personification of set-piece danger. Whether precise crosses, powerful penalties, or irresistible direct free-kick goals, Grifo has everything in his repertoire. He has been a constant performer for Freiburg for years and has deserved the nomination for the TOTY due to his impressive second half of the season.
Jonas Hofmann (RM) – Bayer Leverkusen: “Mister Reliable” almost always knows how to convince. The versatile midfielder shines on the field with high football intelligence, cleverly moves into dangerous areas, and can set up his teammates with accurate passes when he is not searching for a finish himself. In his new home Leverkusen, Hofmann is also among the absolute key players.
Leroy Sané (RM) – FC Bayern: The change of coaches from Nagelsmann to Tuchel was critically observed by many experts in Germany, but since this season, a clear winner of the change has emerged. In the first half of the season, one could see perhaps the best Sané there has ever been. Speed dribbles, dangerous finishes, and a sense of the right pass at the right moment were continuously provided by the German national player. In 15 games, Sané has already contributed 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists).
Florian Wirtz (CAM) – Bayer Leverkusen: Many footballers need a long time to return to their previous performance level after serious injuries. Florian Wirtz seems to be an exception to this rule. On the contrary: Since his return from a cruciate ligament tear, Wirtz has been playing better than ever and is the difference-maker in offense (12 points).
Attack
Loïs Openda (ST) – RB Leipzig: Those who thought that the step from Ligue 1 to a top Bundesliga team was too big have been proven wrong by the extremely fast Belgian. Together with new signing Xavi Simons, Openda shines in the offense at Leipzig and has already scored double-digit goals in the Bundesliga and assisted additional ones.
Serhou Guirassy (ST) – VfB Stuttgart: Guirassy’s meteoric rise has not gone unnoticed by EA Sports. “Goalrassy” scored in nearly every Bundesliga match before an injury, sometimes even multiple times. In the goalscoring leaderboard, he currently ranks just behind Harry Kane with 17 goals.
Harry Kane(ST) – FC Bayern: Some doubted that Kane could maintain his goal ratio outside the Premier League. After 16 games, he has proven his critics wrong and leads the Bundesliga scoring list. Kane has scored 21 goals and provided 5 assists in 15 games. Even in the first half of the year on a weak Tottenham team, he was the standout player and scored many goals.
Below, we have listed the players who could have also been nominated but did not make it to the nomination list:
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – FC Bayern: For a long time last season, de Ligt was the standout player in defense, if not the entire pitch. He was even able to help his teammates win games with a few goals. Unfortunately, the Dutchman has been struggling with injuries for some time and has not been able to show much of his strong form from last season.
Joshua Kimmich (CDM) – FC Bayern: In the otherwise disastrous last season for Bayern, Kimmich, along with Jamal Musiala and Matthijs de Ligt, was the only real constant in his team. Even though Kimmich is criticized from time to time, his smart passes and his determination to win are an important factor for the Munich team. His non-nomination is therefore somewhat surprising.
Xavi Simons(CAM) – RB Leipzig: The Dutch counterpart to Musiala. Simons broke through last season at PSV Eindhoven. He has continued to maintain strong performances in his new home Leipzig and is one of the shooting stars of the current season. His absence from the TOTY selection can only be attributed to the surplus in midfield.
Exequiel Palacios (CM) – Bayer Leverkusen: Already in the second half of last season, Palacios demonstrated incredible passing strength and aggression in key matches. This season, he is among the best midfielders in the Bundesliga. If he continues to perform like this, he should at least be nominated for the TOTY next year.
Niclas Füllkrug (ST) – Borussia Dortmund: Last season’s top scorer has had a bit of a dip this season, largely due to the overall mixed performance of Dortmund. Füllkrug has not managed to impress in 2023 and remains excluded from the TOTY nominations.
That brings us to the end of the Bundesliga leaks for the TOTY nominations. We are interested in your opinion. Which player do you think is unfairly nominated? Which player is missing from the list? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Daggerfall Unity is a project initiated by fans of the classic game and has finally been completed after nearly 10 years of development. It offers both old and new players the perfect opportunity to experience the 1996 game with more modern graphics.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a game from 1996 that also produced great games like Super Mario 64, Quake, or Pokémon Red and Blue. For gamers of that time, it was quite a good year, and the potential of video games virtually exploded back then.
Bethesda released Daggerfall back then, which still counts among the developer’s greatest hits today. And this is despite the fact that games like Starfield, Skyrim, or Fallout 3 followed and celebrated massive success themselves:
Start video
Starfield – Official Gameplay Trailer
However, playing the 1996 title today with more modern technology is quite a challenge. It’s no wonder that some fans decided nearly 10 years ago to work on a remastered version of Daggerfall.
This version is called “Daggerfall Unity” and has now celebrated its official 1.0 release. With that, the project is officially considered completed and could be the reason some players return to Tamriel, the world of Daggerfall.
The best part might also be that you can use this new version completely for free.
How you can play Daggerfall Unity: To play this revised version completely for free, you first need to install the game through Steam. This has also been free for several years.
What you can expect in Daggerfall Unity: For those who couldn’t play the game in 1996, the remastered version offers a whole new adventure. But even for old fans, the new version should be worthwhile, as it shines not only with new graphics.
Daggerfall offers you 15,000 areas to explore. In comparison, Starfield has “only” 1,000 planets to visit. Additionally, there are some features that you would expect from an Elder Scrolls game, which definitely make Daggerfall interesting:
Explore the world and numerous areas freely as you wish
In an interview, Christian Bale expressed his dissatisfaction with his portrayal of Batman in the “The Dark Knight” films. One of the reasons was his fellow actor Heath Ledger, who he felt surpassed him with his role as the Joker.
Christian Bale played the role of the Dark Knight and thus the lead role in the “The Dark Knight” trilogy.
Although the film is celebrated by fans and was long considered the best superhero film of all time, the actor expressed in an interview with Yahoo in March 2016 that he was dissatisfied with his performance.
Here you can see a trailer for the second film of the “The Dark Knight” trilogy:
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German trailer for Batman The Dark Knight
“He is so much more interesting than I am”
Christian Bale told Yahoo that he did not deliver the performance he had originally hoped for in the films. He also felt that he was not quite hitting the mark with his portrayal of Batman.
Especially when his fellow actor Heath Ledger († January 2008) joined the cast as the villain Joker in the second film of the trilogy, the lead actor felt that he would be overshadowed by his colleague:
“Heath showed up and threw all my plans out the window. Because I thought: ‘He is so much more interesting than I am and what I am doing.'”
In another interview with GQ, Christian Bale emphasized that he felt no resentment towards his colleague. Instead, he had only kind words for Heath Ledger.
He was not only a great actor who was fully dedicated to his role but also a good person, with whom he had a lot of fun on set.
Even though Christian Bale looks back on the films with mixed feelings, he was grateful for the opportunity to play one of the most famous comic heroes of all time, as he told Variety in an interview in December 2017:
“[…] It changed everything. It was the first time I made a film of this magnitude. That was a real learning curve for me. I wrestled with it for a long time. Occasionally I still do. But I am learning to accept the good things.”
The highly anticipated trailer for GTA 6 provided a first insight into the story and characters of the new installment of the well-known video game series. However, some fans were not pleased that this time a woman takes center stage. Recently, the actor who played Michael, one of the protagonists of GTA 5, commented on this.
Ned Luke, who portrayed Michael in GTA 5, responded in an interview with IGN on December 23, 2023, to the fans’ criticism and shared his opinion on the matter.
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Rockstar Games shows GTA 6 for the first time in the trailer
“There are a lot of clowns out there”
Ned Luke has kind words for Lucia and clearly tells the actress what he thinks about the people who criticize her as a protagonist:
“There are a lot of clowns here who say: ‘Rockstar is getting woke, they are yielding to the wokeness of the world.’ First of all, there have been other female protagonists in the past, but obviously not in a game as big as this one.” (Source: ign.com)
Ned Luke raves about how well Lucia shone as the new main character in the trailer. In his opinion, she is simply badass.
Above all, the very last scene, in which the two characters step through the door together to storm a store, really impressed him.
When will GTA 6 be released? So far, no exact release date for the new installment of the popular game series has been announced. It is only known that GTA 6 is expected to be released in 2025 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
However, one fan claims to have already figured out when you can look forward to a second trailer:
As of today, January 4, 2024, you can get a winner of the Game Awards 2021 for free for a limited time in the Epic Store. This offer should not be missed by Marvel fans, as the game otherwise costs you almost 60 €.
You can now secure this game for free in the Epic Store: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy normally costs you 59.99 €, but now you can get the game completely free in the Epic Store.
What isMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy? The action-adventure featuring the popular Marvel heroes comes from developer Eidos Montreal and is reminiscent of the Uncharted series. You can expect an action-packed adventure with a Marvel-worthy story and good gameplay.
Superhero fans and especially fans of the MCU should feel right at home in this game, as the chaotic feeling of the Guardian team definitely comes across here, as can already be experienced in the trailer:
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Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the winners of the Game Awards in 2021
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the winners of the Game Awards
In 2021, the game won the award for “Best Narrative” at the Game Awards. The storytelling and narrative development of the game were honored.
In total, you can expect an 18-hour campaign in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which you experience as Star-Lord. The other members of the chaotic team are almost always by your side and are definitely not useless in their positions.
Gamora & Co. provide pretty good and important support in battle and also ensure the entertainment that you expect from the Guardians.
Until when is the offer valid? If you want to secure the game for free, you have a few days, but you shouldn’t wait too long. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be available as a free game in the store until January 11, 2024, at 5:00 PM. After that, you would have to pay the full price at Epic again.
Soon the two predecessors to Baldur’s Gate 3 could land in the Xbox Game Pass. Players have received a notification that the two titles are expected to be available in the Game Pass soon. How true is this?
What’s behind it? In the stream of leaks and accidental revelations surrounding games, another disclosure has joined the list: Xbox Game Pass subscribers are receiving push notifications indicating that Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 may soon be added to the Game Pass.
Middle finger to the AAA industry: Baldur’s Gate 3 was no coincidence
Mysterious announcement in the Xbox Game Pass
What exactly was the notification?TrueAchievements reports that users of the Xbox Game Pass-app have received the following notification:
Rediscover 2 RPG classics
Customize your hero, recruit brave allies, and explore mystical realms in your quest for adventure, profit…and the truth. Play Baldur’s Gate I and II with Game Pass.
So far, however, Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions have not been officially announced for the Xbox Game Pass, and neither title has appeared in the Game Pass yet. The two titles are a remaster of the original games, which were released for Xbox consoles in 2019. The store is currently adding unannounced titles, including the horror game Close to the Sun.
The notifications were likely sent out too early by accident as part of a larger Xbox Game Pass announcement.
According to TrueAchievements, this is the second time players have received notifications about the possible availability of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions for the Game Pass. In August 2023, players already received a similar announcement, but the two titles have never appeared in the Game Pass.
It remains to be seen whether the two titles will actually be added to the Xbox Game Pass soon.
Regardless, you can play Baldur’s Gate 3 without having played the first two titles. Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place over a century later. What makes the game so good is revealed by the German strategy expert:
The Twitch streamer “Knut” Spildrejorde was banned from the platform after a clip of him went viral, in which he read the chat while driving. Users demanded a reaction from Twitch, as some compared the incident to similar cases of other streamers who were banned for distracted driving.
The recent ban of the Norwegian Twitch streamer “Knut” Spildrejorde has caused a stir after a clip of him reading a chat while driving went viral. The incident raises the question of streamers’ responsibility regarding dangerous behavior on camera.
This case is reminiscent of similar controversies in the past, where the boundaries between entertainment and risky behavior on the streaming platform were discussed.
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Twitch streamer Asmongold says: “Stop watching streams at 3 AM if you don’t have money!”
Streamer colleague calls Knut on stream
What did Knut say about the ban?Twitch streamer Tectone also reacted to the news in his stream and immediately called Knut, who apparently confirmed that the ban was due to the incident while driving.
What does the community say about it? While many viewers welcomed Twitch’s decision, there were also protests against the ban. Some even argued that Knut’s behavior, looking at his phone, is comparable to looking at GPS while driving.
The reactions to the post by StreamerBans on X reflect the different viewpoints and the ongoing debate about enforcing policies regarding dangerous behavior on the platform. Some users are protesting:
MaxJamestv comments: “How can you ban him but not the others?”
ghoultastik writes: “Illegal ban 100%”
JosrSalgado demands: “Free Knut”
The other half of the community welcomes the ban of the streamer, as numerous comments under the post illustrate:
TheRealFurkan writes: “It took a while, but finally.”
spicyjuniorgoo comments: “I saw the clip of Knut. It is very important not to look at your phone while driving. Just a little reminder.”
Not too long ago, the German streamer KuchenTV was banned by Twitch. To learn more about the background of this ban, you can read here:
In 2004, BlueGene/L by IBM was the strongest supercomputer in the world. Today, its computing power is surpassed by an Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card.
The development of computer hardware is progressing at a rapid pace. As a PC gamer, one regularly hears about new processors and graphics cards that typically bring significant performance boosts compared to their predecessors.
Supercomputers are used in highly professional fields. These systems with countless processors perform complex calculations and are unaffordable for the average person.
A comparison between such a supercomputer and a modern graphics card, reported by 3DJuegos.com, shows that gamers now have access to hardware with great computing power.
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Manufacturer shows sleek case, gamers are thrilled: “Great design! Goes directly onto my wishlist”
RTX 4090 has more computing power than a supercomputer 20 years ago
What kind of computer is this? BlueGene/L was commissioned by IBM in 2004 and was at the time the fastest supercomputer in the world (via top500.org). In its original configuration, BlueGene/L had 32,768 PowerPC 440 processors running at a clock speed of 700 MHz.
Its computing power was 70.72 TFLOPS at that time. The unit FLOPS describes the number of floating-point calculations a single processor can perform per second. The price was around 22 million euros (list price: about 1.4 million euros per rack. BlueGene/L started in 2004 with 16 racks). For comparison, an RTX 4090 currently costs about 2000 euros.
How much faster is the RTX 4090? In terms of pure computing power, the Nvidia graphics card outshines the 2004 supercomputer. With about 83 TFLOPS, it exceeds the 70.72 TFLOPS of the supercomputer in floating-point calculations. If the RTX 4090 is overclocked, more than 100 TFLOPS are even possible.
However, this triumph over the supercomputer is only theoretical. The stated values of the RTX 4090 refer to 16- or 32-bit floating-point calculations. But the computing power of systems like BlueGene/L refers to 64-bit floating-point calculations. In this case, the RTX 4090 clearly falls short and only achieves 1.29 TFLOPS (via techpowerup.com).
Nevertheless, this comparison shows very clearly how much the performance of hardware, and especially graphics cards, has developed over the past two decades. Modern graphics cards now take on not only the graphical representation on the screen.
Their technical architecture has become increasingly complex over the years. They can perform AI calculations through additional computing cores, for instance. This sometimes leads to applications that lie outside of a gaming PC, as recently proven by a student.
What was BlueGene/L used for? IBM’s supercomputer from 2004 was used for complex calculations in scientific research that require particularly high computing power. At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, biologists decrypted the processes of protein folding or gene development in this way.
In other scenarios, supercomputers are also used in weather forecasting, physics calculations, and data analysis. For example, the performance is used for weather forecasts, the discovery of oil and gas reserves, or for complex calculations in astrophysics or fusion research.
What capabilities do current supercomputers have? Currently, the supercomputer Frontier, with its HPE Cray EX235a architecture, is the benchmark (via top500.org). It achieves an incredible 1.1 ExaFLOPS. (1 ExaFLOPS = 10 to the power of 6 TFLOPS). This requires proper cooling and space.
The computing power of BlueGene/L was repeatedly increased through several upgrades. In its final form, the supercomputer reached over 478 TFLOPS. In this version, the supercomputer outperformed the RTX 4090 graphics card again in theoretical results.
The SNES (Super Nintendo) was released 14 years before BlueGene/L and had only a computing power of 2.5 MFLOPS. There was also a version of the SNES presented collaboratively by Nintendo and Sony. Since only one known copy of this game console exists, a YouTuber took the last known prototype as a model to build his own Nintendo PlayStation:Sony and Nintendo buried their joint game console 33 years ago – A YouTuber simply builds his own version
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In 2024, there will finally be major MMORPG releases again. We at MeinMMO present you the most promising games in development, some of which will be released in 2024, while others will follow in the years after.
We have updated this article on 04.01.2024 with new information about the promising MMORPGs for 2024.
Last Update: 04.01.2024
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Throne and Liberty – The Better Lineage?
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: NCSoft, Amazon Games | Platform: PC, Playstation, Xbox | Model: Unknown, probably Free2Play
What kind of game is this? TL was originally announced as Lineage 3 or Lineage Eternal and was even supposed to be in an iso perspective, similar to Lost Ark. However, it was completely revised from the ground up in 2017, to become a “true next-gen MMORPG”.
The new version is now supposed to appeal to a wide audience. It offers action-packed fights in third-person view, eliminates annoying features like autoplay, and promises an interesting mix of PvE and PvP.
What makes it so interesting? Throne and Liberty offers a diverse character editor, with only humans as a playable race. It completely forgoes classes and allows you to determine your play style through weapons and armor. Here you can choose from 9 weapons, including two crossbows, a two-handed sword, and wands.
The big highlight is the weather system, which is said to influence terrain and combat. For example, during rain, certain areas get flooded, making them unreachable. However, lightning strikes are more effective during this time. Conversely, fire attacks deal more damage under sunny conditions, and arrows fly faster in strong winds.
Apart from these features, the MMORPG focuses on:
An open world that does not require loading screens – apart from some instanced dungeons. At launch, there will be 19 areas and 8 cities.
Quests, exploration, world bosses, and guild raids for PvE fans.
Outpost battles, PvP events in the open world, and large battles for a castle.
How has the development gone so far? The game was announced in 2011 as “Lineage Eternal”. At that time, it was a hybrid for PC and mobile. NCSoft was supposed to lead this into the future. However, the first beta in 2015 was not well received by testers.
The Koreans pulled back Lineage Eternal and later announced Project TL. It received the new Unreal Engine 4 and a completely new management team.
How likely is the release in 2024? Almost 100%. NCSoft launched the game on December 7, 2023 in Korea. There is already a fully translated English version available. It’s just up to Amazon to bring the game to us in the West.
However, as initial tests have already taken place and the versions in Korea and the West are supposed to become identical in the long term, Amazon will not take too long to bring Throne and Liberty to us.
A group of Horde players has a brilliant idea to achieve wealth in World of Warcraft Classic. Their assassination service even accepts unusual special requests that are to be fulfilled while killing a player.
How does their assassination service work? It is quite simple to book the group’s service. Interested customers can submit the name of the desired Alliance player, and the bounty hunters set out to kill the character. Afterwards, they return with a proof video and demand their money for it.
The players wait until the victim logs in. To check the target’s online status, they verify it with their own Alliance accounts. Once the victim leaves a safe zone, the PvP hunt is open.
To know the exact location of the player, the group invites him to the group or uses the /who command. Once they have tracked their target, they coldly take it down.
This is offered by the Season of Discovery in WoW Classic:
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WoW Classic: The Devs on the Season of Discovery in Interview
Assassination service includes several services
The group even accommodates special requests from customers. These include, for example, the following things:
Hard-camping until the character respawns at the graveyard
Emoting, when customers want to see special emotes at victory
Other griefing tactics that take away the fun from the victim
Targeted ambushing, stalking, and killing of players can be counted as griefing in the worst case if it goes beyond limits. In case of doubt, this could lead to account penalties, which is why we would not recommend this method for imitation.
How is the service received in the community? Many players are amused by the service (via reddit.com). However, some are bothered by the group’s griefing service, as it diminishes the fun of the game.
A representative member of the agency states that their service has certain limits. Once a victim respawns at the graveyard, they would leave it alone. Moreover, they have never tagged mobs and unleashed them on players.
Some users definitely take away that they will no longer accept anonymous group invitations from now on.
Can I currently book the service? Unfortunately, it is not possible to contact the assassination group at the moment. They have taken a break from killing and will take a break until Phase 2 of the Season of Discovery begins.
For the group, the service has not been worth it anyway. They have not earned a fortune with it and had only a few orders per month. Moreover, they often did not complete most orders as they were on a different layer than the target. The service was existent purely for role-playing purposes.
WoW Classic currently has a major problem with gold:
A dungeon causes frustration and annoyance in World of Warcraft – groups break apart and often the instance isn’t completed at all.
In World of Warcraft, there are many endgame contents, but the most important one in Dragonflight is the “Mythic+” area. New and old dungeons are equipped with affixes and a time limit to allow new difficulties and to drop really good loot.
However, since the introduction of Mythic+, there have always been keys and corresponding dungeons that are referred to as “dead keys.” And week after week, this leads to frustration and problems.
Which dungeons cause problems? If one remembers the first season of Dragonflight, everyone loved the dungeon “Shadowmoon Burial Grounds.” The dungeon was manageable even with several wipes, and even major mistakes allowed players to get through with over 10 minutes remaining on the clock. The situation was different for the Ruby Sanctum – even one mistake could mean that the dungeon was lost and the group already fell apart.
Murozond is unpopular – currently even stronger than it was back then in its old form in “Cataclysm.”
In the third season of Dragonflight, the role of the “hate dungeon” basically switches to a different candidate each week. While at the beginning of the season, the “Evergreen Grove” was especially torturous on Tyrannical, the “Throne of the Tides” quickly followed suit. Now, “Murozond’s Rise” is the most despised dungeon – and there are several reasons for that.
What makes Murozond’s Rise so annoying? The dungeon has several mechanics that make it pretty exasperating for the player base.
On one hand, the dungeon is not clearly structured. It is not obvious which path to take, which bosses still need to be defeated, and which path is the correct one. There is a lack of markings and announcements from the game. While one can compensate for this through practice, there is another peculiarity that causes frustration:
The “gauntlet.” Here, heroes must evade a constant barrage of enemy attacks while reaching a target point, without getting hit even once. If one fails, it goes back to the starting point. While this is a “breather,” it offers completely different gameplay compared to what one is used to from other dungeons. Since the progress only continues if at least one hero completes this task, it can easily take 3, 4, or even 5 minutes before someone succeeds in activating the saving portal.
Especially “randoms” often have little patience here – if the portal isn’t opened after a minute, the group will disband.
In principle, the criticism from the PTR has been confirmed. The dungeon “Twilight of Eternity” is a great experience as a cohesive mega-dungeon – but offers little joy as a split Mythic+ variant.
Can this be backed up with numbers? Yes. When looking at the evaluations of completed dungeon runs, it becomes clear that Murozond’s Rise stands out significantly (via bestkeystone.com). Only 77% of all keys are successfully completed here – that is over 10% worse than the next dungeon, Throne of the Tides, with 87%.
The completion rates of the dungeons from season 3 – Murozond’s Rise is far behind. (Image source: bestkeystone.com)
For comparison: The currently easiest dungeon, the Kronsteig estate, has a successful completion rate of 94%.
The fact that Murozond’s Rise is so far behind is, by the way, not only due to the current combination of affixes – they are actually quite simple. In every single week since the start of season 3, Murozond’s Rise has had a value that hovers somewhere in the 70% range. Even smaller nerfs and adjustments haven’t helped.
Which dungeons do you have problems with? Where could Blizzard improve and how can they prevent certain dungeons from always being unpopular?
