BioWare teases Mass Effect fans with a short trailer. While it doesn’t show much, it generates a lot of reactions.
What is it about? Many players and fans of Mass Effect have long been waiting for news about the next proper game in the series. Many fans were rather disappointed with Andromeda and have been waiting for a worthy successor since the third part.
After two years, BioWare finally delivers a new teaser trailer. A picture has also been uploaded on X/Twitter. This shows you the character featured in the trailer in more detail.
The short trailer is barely 30 seconds long, and we have embedded it here for you:
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Mass Effect 5 Teaser Trailer
What does the trailer show? Admittedly, the short video doesn’t show much. But as user XardionZ notes in his comment (via YouTube), it is precisely the definition of a teaser trailer. Not much is shown, but enough to get the ball rolling.
BioWare has definitely achieved this with this trailer, as the other comments indicate. User xonicx7 mentions that this teaser gives him goosebumps because it is so good.
But what exactly does the trailer show? You see a character walking down a dark corridor wearing an N7 trench coat. N7 is the well-known logo worn by the main character Shepard in the first three games.
This logo describes the training level of an Alliance soldier, and it is the only rank that can be worn on the uniform. It is clear that the character in the trailer holds a high rank and belongs to the Alliance military.
However, it is hard to say whether this suggests that Shepard actually returns after the sad ending of part 3 or not. Because the character is wearing a helmet, we have no further hints.
Fans would wait years for the next part
What are the reactions? The reactions in the comments are definitely mixed.
Along with the excitement about the news and a really nice teaser trailer, there is fear about the many layoffs this year. User mela8175 hopes that BioWare doesn’t mess up this franchise now, as many fans really care about Mass Effect. Many others share this sentiment, hoping their game won’t suffer because of it.
Similar to user Mega554321, players wish for the developers to take their time to make the game good. User theatlascomplex2052 supports this request with his statement that he would be happy if we only received short trailers in the coming years. Because this would at least mean that the developers are taking their time.
We have compiled some more reactions for you:
ThomasJakobMusic thinks: The N7 logo must be one of the most beautifully designed logos of all time
emmw7794 writes: I forgot how much I love this series. I have tears in my eyes and goosebumps […]
Patterrz writes: A BioWare turnaround would be incredible
makeawakening1512 writes: Even the smallest trailer lifts my spirits for weeks. Mass Effect is not a perfect game, but it is one of the best and most thoughtfully designed universes, not just in games […]
What do you think of the short teaser? Do you believe that a new Mass Effect installment has a chance? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Since October 26, 2023, a film adaptation of the horror game of the same name is running in theaters. The production is a true success in terms of revenue, even breaking a record.
In the cult game Five Nights at Freddy’s, you sit as an employee in the control room of a family restaurant chain “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.”
There you operate security cameras, turn on lights, and control the entrances to protect yourself from the gruesome animatronics that come to life at night.
This year, the well-known video game series received a live-action film adaptation that quickly conquered the box office and set a record.
Here you can see a trailer for the film about the creepy animatronics:
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Five Nights at Freddy’s Live Action Movie Trailer
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a financial success
Internationally, the film has grossed a total of 217 million dollars at the box office since October 26, 2023. Currently, it holds 20th place in the worldwide annual charts. In the USA alone, the video game adaptation managed to gross over 113 million dollars (via Filmstarts).
According to Screendaily, the success of Five Nights at Freddy’s at the box office is currently declining slightly, as they detail in a report on the box office for the weekend of November 3-5:
The North American weekend box office gross is 19.4 million dollars, a decrease of 76%.
The international gross is 34.6 million dollars, representing a decline of 56% in the holdover markets.
However, the film, which is reported to have a production budget of around 20 million dollars, has already recouped multiple times its expenses after just two weekends of play, making it a financial giant success.
The curious thing: The film not only premiered in theaters but is also simultaneously available on the streaming service Peacock.
This dual release usually tends to reduce box office earnings. However, in this case, the box office results for Five Nights at Freddy’s do not seem to be affected in any way. On the contrary: The horror film is extremely successful both as a theatrical release and as a streaming production.
What record did Five Nights at Freddy’s set? The horror film with the creepy animatronics is due to its excellent box office figures the most successful horror film of 2023 in the US box office charts.
Five Nights at Freddy’s even surpassed Scream 6 of another huge horror franchise when it comes to box office success of the year.
If you are horror fans and still looking for suitable films for your movie night, this list could be just right for you: 7 disaster movies with zombies
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The manufacturer Alienware has come up with a particularly clever advertising campaign: They developed a huge gaming keyboard and a gaming mouse. With this hardware, “Team Liquid”, which is considered the third-best team in DOTA 2, had to play a match against a coach.
How did the hardware come about? The keyboard and mouse are based on the mechanical Alienware AW420K keyboard and the AW720M gaming mouse. The predecessor mouse could be thoroughly tested by MeinMMO. Alienware scanned the hardware and subsequently scaled it up to a 14:1 ratio. The keyboard is 5 meters long and just the space bar weighs 9 kilograms.
The usual mechanics of mechanical keyboards surprisingly do not work with this giant keyboard, and a custom technology had to be developed: Under the keys of the keyboard are PVC pipe shafts, which in turn are connected to a real mechanical switch. A rubber band mechanism ensures that the keys snap back and do not get stuck.
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Team Liquid first plays against bots and then against a real opponent
What did the team have to play? To prove that the hardware works, the DOTA 2 esports team “Team Liquid” had to play some matches against a real opponent.
It is not surprising that it takes a whole team to operate this mouse and keyboard. It takes 2 people just to move the mouse and press its buttons. The other three team members then had to deal with the keyboard.
The first attempts against bots in Dota also went pretty badly at first. But after several attempts, the team managed to secure a victory against bots.
After the exercises, it was time to face a real opponent: The team had to compete against DOTA coach Blitz. However, Blitz was given several disadvantages for fairness:
Without glasses.
With significantly reduced resolution.
Playing with 1 meter distance from the monitor.
You should definitely watch the entire match in the official video. Because it is very entertaining to see the team trying to cope with the big keyboard.
More large keyboards: Two YouTubers have also built a special keyboard. Because it is almost as large as a room and actually works. But typing this way becomes a real challenge.
Builds are generally meant to get the best out of a character. This can make leveling and mastering difficult challenges a breeze. A player in Diablo 4 also relied on builds, but he wasn’t happy with them.
Which builds are we talking about?
Builds are designed to level up faster, defeat individual bosses as quickly as possible, and optimize the endgame experience.
There are several builds for each class depending on the situation.
Websites like MaxRoll and Icy Veins have entire pages dedicated to builds.
The player initially followed the builds and created his character according to the template (via reddit.com). But he had no fun playing, both during leveling and in the endgame.
The reason for this was that he relied on the pre-built builds. They contained skills that ensured maximum damage for the specific situation, but this did not suit his playstyle.
He decided to take skills that sounded or looked cool. This allowed him to discover his individual playstyle. His current build may not be suitable for some endgame content, but it is unique and brings him more enjoyment.
MeinMMO shares a trick to help you get through the game easier:
Start video
Diablo 4: Do you forget to use your elixirs? This trick helps you.
These endgame contents the player can no longer handle
What does this prevent him from doing? The price of his own playstyle is that he will probably not succeed in some endgame contents. For example, the user mentions Nightmare Dungeons, which are the more difficult versions of the normal dungeons.
He would likely still manage to complete the Nightmare Dungeons, but not at level 100. Furthermore, the player thinks that he will not be able to handle the Uber bosses as quickly. These are stronger variants of the normal bosses.
In builds, the skills are harmonized to support each other and maximize damage. Since the player only focused on the appearance and handling of the skills, he will probably not be able to generate the damage needed to tackle the strongest endgame content.
What do other users say about it? The community fully supports the player’s decision. They feel that skill-building is one of the most entertaining parts of the game, which many miss because of build guides.
For user VicinityGhost, build guides are even a kind of spoiler because they would eliminate the experimentation with their own character. Other users simply use several build guides and pick the skills that suit them from them. This way, they have a sense of freedom in choosing their skills.
MeinMMO has gathered other opinions from the reddit thread to give you an impression of the overall sentiment:
pvthudson79: “It’s much more fun to play with your own build than to follow a build guide just to push Nightmare Dungeons.”
MongooseOne: “I lost interest in games so quickly when I just followed a guide. It’s so much more fun to make one myself.”
SkyApprehensive8146: “Everyone has a different playstyle. If you want meta builds to beat Ubers and 100-level Nightmare Dungeons, go ahead! If you just want to log in, play what you enjoy, looks cool, makes you happy, but can’t get past level 40 Nightmare Dungeons – that’s okay too.”
However, there are also players who enjoy being superior to their opponents. User Picklepartyprevail writes, for example, that he followed a build guide with which he can now destroy bosses with one hit. He is happy with it.
Either way, every player should decide for themselves whether they want to stick to build guides or try out their own playstyle. MeinMMO will definitely continue to provide build guides, including for the upcoming new class:
Blizzard is transparent about its plans for World of Warcraft. The next 2 seasons are already confirmed – and especially the 4th will be something special again.
In World of Warcraft Dragonflight, the Patch 10.2 Guardian of Dreams has just started and the 3rd season will still take a week to arrive. However, Blizzard has already revealed that there will be a 4th season – even though no major patch is coming out anymore. We will tell you what this is all about.
What was said? In a post on the World of Warcraft Subreddit, the Game Director of WoW, Ion Hazzikostas, spoke up. He clarified some things regarding the fourth season of Dragonflight, as there seems to have been misunderstandings about it. Especially concerning a Dinar system. He wrote:
There will definitely be a Dinar system in Season 4 of Dragonflight. We don’t think it was too generous in Season 4 of Shadowlands – it worked well.
What is the Dinar system? With the Dinar system in Shadowlands, players could earn a special currency, the Dinars. With these, they could buy all sorts of loot items directly from a vendor without having to rely on drop luck. This way, everyone could guarantee they get the loot they definitely wanted.
What will this 4th season look like? Even though we don’t yet know the details of the 4th season of Dragonflight, we can already draw some conclusions based on how it went down in Shadowlands.
In Shadowlands, all raids of the expansion were “renovated” and brought up to date. There were rewards with high item levels, so all raids were in competition with each other, and there was something worthwhile everywhere.
At the same time, there was a whole new rotation of mythic dungeons, consisting largely of old expansions. Since Blizzard has already tried this rotation in Dragonflight, it might be possible instead to bring back only the dungeons from Dragonflight – after all, they are hardly present in Season 3.
The indie MMORPG Corepunk reminds of a mix of WoW and League of Legends and launched its first small test in September. Now, in November, a larger group finally had the chance to participate. The developers have now summarized the feedback they received.
What kind of test was it? The second alpha test began on November 4 and lasted approximately 29 hours. Over 100 players were allowed to participate, selected by the developers through registrations on the website and Discord. A visual NDA was in effect during the test, but participants can freely discuss their experiences.
Within these 29 hours, players managed to reach a maximum level of 7, which isn’t particularly high. The developers stated that while they received praise from players for the areas, the content was quite challenging and penalizing.
New features in this test included:
The naming of the areas, as the zones had no names in the first test
An automatic mana regeneration
Additional areas
A penalty upon death, where players lose a part of their items
Criticism was directed at the overly high aggro range of mobs, which occasionally pursued players for 30 seconds, a too empty game world, and critical bugs that caused players to end up under the map.
In conclusion, they wrote: “Some improvements are still necessary to ensure enjoyable gameplay.” You can read the exact statements from the testers in the Corepunk forum.
How much does Corepunk cost? The developers are opting for a Buy2Play model, where you need to buy the game once to be able to play it. Additional money will then be earned through a shop with pure cosmetics.
Currently, there are no prices or ways to purchase the game.
PvP in certain areas of the open world and in arenas. Here, 1v1 and 2v2 deathmatch arenas are planned. There will also be leaderboards. It is still unclear whether there will be a separation into pure PvE and PvP servers. The developers are currently still debating this.
There are trains that run through the open world and can run over and kill you.
What do you think of Corepunk? Does this MMORPG appeal to you? And will you test it in advance or wait and see?
Another new game that makes a really good impression is Chrono Odyssey:
In EA FC 24, speed plays a big role. Besides the base speed and the playstyles that define the players’ speed, you can add more explosiveness to your acceleration with a specific special move.
What’s the trick? In EA FC 24, there are various special moves. Since this year, you can even combine multiple skills again, making you more unpredictable in dribbling. Besides dynamic direction changes, these special moves can give you a speed advantage in one-on-one situations.
Especially one special move that can be performed by any player is frequently used this year to gain a speed boost. Which skill move this is, and how it looks in practice, you will find out here.
To start, you will see a short explanation from FIFA streamer “proownez”. Watch the video for about a minute.
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The Overstep as a starting point for the speed boost
How does the Overstep give you more speed? The video shows that the key to the Overstep boost is not the execution itself, but the starting movement at the end of the skill move. The boost is greatest when you sprint straight ahead after the special move.
If executed correctly, you will notice the explosiveness with which your player comes out of the Overstep. You should make sure you have some free space in front of you to advance into.
This is how the Overstep boost works: The starting point is the Overstep. For this simple skill move, you move the right stick in the direction the player is facing either a quarter turn (45 degrees) to the left or a quarter turn to the right. Your player will then step over the ball with their left or right leg. Whether you execute the Overstep at the end with the left or right foot does not matter for the boost.
To achieve maximum speed boost, you press the sprint button (R2 on PlayStation or RT on Xbox) immediately after the Overstep(s). This will significantly increase your player’s speed.
You will exit the skill move with slightly less speed if you also make a small directional change. With this minimal change, you should make sure that you do not move the left stick too much against the player’s running direction (a maximum of a quarter turn off from the running direction), otherwise the boost will dissipate.
Which players can perform the Overstep? Anyone with 2-star special moves can execute an Overstep. Therefore, aside from goalkeepers, all players can perform this skill.
If we want to be precise, even a certain goalkeeper who is actually a striker can perform the Overstep with their 3-star skills. Check them out if you want to trick with your goalie too.
You should just pay attention to using skills with players who have a certain base speed (80 or higher) and good dribbling stats (80 or higher). Otherwise, the moves will be executed significantly slower and with less dynamics.
Further down, we will reveal which playstyles can make the Overstep boost even more effective.
And speaking of speed all the time: You should hurry to get the best right-back in the game into your team. We will show you how to get him.
Which playstyles make the Overstep boost even better? Crucial for the even stronger boost are the playstyles Rage and Quick Step. While Rage increases your speed while dribbling, “Quick Step” helps you to get a quicker start. If your player has both playstyles during the execution of the Overstep, it makes the speed boost even more effective, and you can immediately take on the additional speed in the following sprint.
Finally, we have one more tip for you: In a separate article, we previously reported how you can ensure that your players become even faster using a simple trick:
A gamer is having problems with his graphics card, and the purchase of a new GPU is being considered. However, some speculate that it is not the graphics card at all. A further check could save him a lot of money in the end.
Graphics cards cost a lot of money, and a hardware failure can quickly become expensive. A gamer reported having severe glitches and graphics problems and already feared that his graphics card would soon fail.
But with some help, he then found out that the graphics card isn’t actually broken, but that the issue lies elsewhere.
Our title image is a symbolic image.
Problems with the graphics card primarily occur in two specific games
What exactly was the problem? A user posted several images on reddit and explained that he feared his graphics card was dying. In the images, you can see that the graphical representation is completely messed up in places:
Fire and other graphical effects are displayed like a “disco” effect, making it hard to see anything.
Textures are only partially loaded, allowing you to see through walls and buildings.
Some graphic representations are heavily stretched and are literally “glitching” around.
For the player, it is clear that something must be wrong, and in the end, even the graphics card could be to blame. And replacing an RTX 3070 is not cheap, as this graphics card still costs around 500 euros.
What has been the solution approach so far? In the comments, some users already explained that the errors did not look like a hardware failure. It seemed more like a driver error or a lack of support from the game. Especially older games do not cope with newer graphics cards and produce unsightly visual bugs.
Some also pointed out that it could be overheating issues of the graphics card or, in the worst case, a technical defect of the video memory of the GPU.
The owner of the posts explained in an update that they had already removed the old graphics card driver from the PC and wanted to take care of new software. However, some issues were also present with new software. In the benchmark program 3DMark, however, there were no issues. He mainly played Vermintide 1 + 2.
Thorough troubleshooting is worth it: If you have errors or problems with your graphics card, first check your other hardware, games, and software: Do all other games run completely smoothly, and does Windows show no problems? Then, it is most likely not a hardware failure.
Often, it is also worthwhile to try games from different manufacturers. If you stick with one manufacturer, you might end up testing your graphics card with the same graphics engine every time: For example, EA has been using the Frostbite engine for many games for years.
Especially older software can cause problems with newer GPUs because older features may no longer be supported or processed differently.
A thorough check can save you from a costly and unnecessary hardware purchase in the worst case – unless you really want to upgrade and see the problems now as an opportunity for a long-awaited upgrade.
Today, “Game of Thrones” is considered one of the most successful series of all time. However, the beginning of the production was anything but smooth. The pilot episode was a complete disaster.
The beginning of “Game of Thrones”:
The pilot episode of “Game of Thrones” was filmed in 2009 but was never aired
The new first episode titled “Winter Is Coming” first aired in 2011 on the American channel HBO
The screenplay was written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss based on the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin
Here you can see the trailer for the prequel series “House of the Dragon”:
Start video
House of the Dragon – English trailer for the prequel series to „Game of Thrones“
What kind of episode was that? You probably never saw the pilot episode of “Game of Thrones”. Because hardly anyone did – for good reasons. In interviews with Entertainment Weekly, various participants recount the beginnings of the fantasy hit (via 3D Juegos).
Before it even started, rookie showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss had already spent 4 years planning the series. Then they finally began filming in Northern Ireland and Morocco. But the ambitious project was not easy to implement.
“No one knew what we were doing or what the hell that was,” recalls Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, the actor who played Jaime Lannister. While filming the arrival of King Robert, a key scene in the first episode, he felt ridiculous the entire time. “There was not a shred of a chance that this project would be a game-changer for anyone,” he describes the feeling back then. Luckily, he was wrong about that.
The reasons for failure
What exactly went wrong in this pilot episode? “At first, we thought everything would go well. But that was only because we didn’t know any better,” explains David Benioff.
Above all, the episode failed to explain essential details of the plot. If one was not familiar with the source material by George R.R. Martin, important moments of the story were simply not understandable. It seems it was not clear that Jaime and Cersei Lannister are siblings. This made the “incest scene”, which was supposed to be a major revelation, completely trivial.
There also appeared to be problems with the scenes featuring Daenerys, who was still portrayed by Tamzin Merchant. From a horse that wouldn’t jump over the campfire to sexually aroused horses distracting the actors during Daenerys’ wedding night shoot. Nothing seemed to work quite right.
Technically, the production unfortunately could not convince either. “It looks like it was filmed in my backyard,” someone reportedly noted.
Additionally, it seemed that many of those involved did not fully grasp the genre of the series. “Is it fantasy with a drama influence? Is it a drama with a fantasy influence?” They attempted to keep the fantasy element as low as possible and especially aimed to make the dialogues “more realistic”.
However, the result apparently did not fit, as it fundamentally remained a fantasy story and not a purely historical retelling.
Despite a decent budget, the production overall felt too “small” – not like the epic fantasy saga it aimed to be.
Who got to see the episode? After the pilot episode was filmed, Benioff and Weiss presented a rough cut to some friends and family members. The reactions were rather modest.
I showed the episode to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and observed their reactions. You could see on their faces how bored they were. “This is kind of nothing,” they said. They really tried to be nice.
David Benioff in an interview with Entertainment Weekly
Besides the lukewarm comments, they also received some honest feedback. The experienced TV producer Craig Mazin put it bluntly: “You have a huge problem.”
A 10 million dollar rehearsal
What happened next? Despite the numerous problems, HBO gave the series a second chance after this disaster. Benioff and Weiss were allowed to reshoot almost all the material. At that time, the company had already invested 10 million US dollars into the dragon drama.
There were some changes, including in the cast. Only now did actresses Emilia Clarke and Michelle Fairley take on their roles as Daenerys Targaryen and Catelyn Stark.
Moreover, efforts were made to enhance the overall comprehension of the storyline for both the audience and the actors.
The most significant change lay in the tone and focus of the series. Where it was previously difficult to find the right balance between “seriousness and expensive cosplay”, the series became as dark as we know it today.
This did the series good, even though it probably also meant the wonderfully quirky cameo appearance of George R.R. Martin in an exaggerated Pentoshi costume was cut. In my opinion, a truly tragic loss.
George R.R. Martin as a cameo in the pilot episode of Game of Thrones via George Martin
Overall, the pilot episode can probably be seen as a major exercise through which all those involved learned a lot and thus paved the way for the final series. “We were incredibly lucky to get a 10-million-dollar rehearsal,” summarizes the actor of Viserys Targaryen, Harry Lloyd, aptly.
Even later, there were often funny situations during the production of “Game of Thrones”.
For example, Pedro Pascal, the actor who played Oberyn Martell, fell asleep during the filming of the famous fight scene between him and “the Mountain”. You can find out more here on MeinMMO:
The MMORPG “The Wagadu Chronicles” (PC) is a new game being developed by an indie studio from Berlin. It receives support from LoL developer Riot Games and features some very interesting approaches. It officially launches in Early Access on Steam in December.
What kind of MMORPG is this? In The Wagadu Chronicles, you create a character, gather resources with it, and craft items that are important for the economy. Each village in the game has its own local market, so prices can vary here.
The game does not rely on classes but instead focuses on different skills you can level up. Some of these help you in combat, while others are designed for side activities like fishing, farming, or exploration.
You can expect a turn-based combat system where you need to position your character correctly on a game board. Up to 12 players can participate at the same time.
The focus is not on grinding or growing stats but on the story.
There are no direct PvP contents in the game. However, players can take control of villages in communities (guilds) by claiming the guardian spirits. Other communities can contest these villages through PvE tasks.
A strong emphasis is to be placed on role-playing. According to their own statements, many of the developers learned the old-school roleplay – with pen, paper, and dice. There is supposed to be a dialogue mode where multiple players can interact with each other.
The setting of the game is also special. The developers themselves describe it as an Afrofantasy MMORPG. Your characters have dark skin, wear traditional garments, and can also be adapted in terms of body shape in a way that is rather unusual for a classic MMO.
You can see what the MMORPG is all about in this trailer for the Early Access:
Start video
The Wagadu Chronicles – Early Access Trailer
The Wagadu Chronicles will be released in December
When does Early Access start? As the developers revealed on Twitter/X, the MMORPG will start Early Access on December 4 on Steam.
Previously, there were already some alpha tests that selected players could participate in. However, in about four weeks, all players can join in.
In the announcement of the launch, the most important features were highlighted, such as role-playing, the villages that players can control and upgrade, and the mini-game Oware, a traditional strategy game from West Africa.
How is the MMORPG funded? The Wagadu Chronicles started with a Kickstarter campaign, through which they managed to raise 163,910 euros.
Additionally, they are supported by LoL developer Riot Games. The company invests in various start-ups and mainly wants to strengthen underrepresented founders. This also includes Twin Drums, the studio from Berlin.
What model the MMORPG itself follows, i.e. Free2Play, Buy2Play, or subscription, has not yet been revealed. We will find out at the latest at the launch in Early Access.
What do you think about The Wagadu Chronicles? Are you drawn to the game and the setting?
Currently, a lot of glowing Pokémon are appearing. For instance, the Electric-type Pokémon Blipp is celebrating its debut, but also other sparkling candidates like Lampi, Bubungus, Ponita, or Lichtel are currently out and about.
Here’s the special detail: During the light festival, one can notice a small effect when it gets dark: Some Pokémon literally glow when found in the wild. They have a small shimmer around them that illuminates the nighttime map in a friendlier light.
User “PorkChopper11” shows how this looks in the subreddit “TheSilphRoad” for Pokémon GO:
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Trainers praise the effect in Pokémon GO, contributes to the atmosphere
Does the glowing help? Gameplay-wise: not really. The monsters are not stronger in any way or have any other bonuses. It is purely a visual effect observable at night.
However, this small detail does make a difference, some trainers believe. Because: The atmosphere of the game benefits from it, as players clarify in their comments:
“I love this effect so much that I wish it would last all year,” writes one user about it (via reddit).
“Why would they even turn this off?” asks another (via reddit).
“Why isn’t this a permanent feature? Along with various seasonal maps like during the harvest festival event. The game looks 10x better” (via reddit).
Are there more such examples? Basically, some trainers describe that other event effects come to mind, such as the winter or the Halloween map effects, of which they would like to see more. Because it is rather exceptional for an event to bring visual effects.
What do you think about such effects? Is the atmosphere in Pokémon GO important to you, or is this a topic that is less relevant to you? Would you like to see more visual effects in Pokémon GO accompanying current events? Tell us in the comments!
Max “HandOfBlood” Knabe (31) returns to YouTube after a long illness break to his fans. The 31-year-old had a persistent infection that simply wouldn’t go away and, coincidentally, incapacitated his most important tool: His voice.
Was gone? Since mid-September 2023, there have been no new videos on the YouTube channels of Max Knabe aka HandOfBlood. The content creator struggled with a stubborn infection. In a new video, he returns to his fans and reports on how he has been doing.
HandOfBlood made it through gamescom 2023 without getting sick.
Start video
These characters would be content creators in video games
Wait and drink tea
What did HandOfBlood have? The YouTuber speaks of a cold that was really persistent. He got sick in August, in the middle of summer. In a video published on November 7, 2023, HandOfBlood now says: He is back to 99% fit.
In between, he felt better at times, and after a while, he also worked again “out of spite.” During the long illness break, the YouTuber apparently became increasingly restless: “And then I suddenly got sick again, and everything started over, after 6 weeks. I thought I was going crazy.”
He says he had nothing serious, did not feel too bad. But his voice, of all things, was causing problems for the 31-year-old, and that’s what he needs for his profession:
It was so weird because it just wouldn’t go away. And I was no longer contagious and also completely fit, I could probably have done any job in the world, except the one I do: Talking all day.
After barely 10 minutes in the video, the YouTuber already notices that talking for a long time tires him out. Until complete recovery, he says it’s time to drink a lot of tea and hot lemon and to inhale regularly.
You can watch the entire video here:
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What’s next? HandOfBlood explains that he now has to “get back into the groove”. He will start recording new content, but he still needs to observe how he is doing.
He also asks for the understanding of his viewers if there are more placements in the near future than usual. The YouTuber now has to work through a lot that has piled up during his illness. But he also says: He doesn’t actually have to justify himself for that; the content is not worse.
HandOfBlood has one more request for his fans: Please share the video diligently and let everyone know that he has released an update. There’s one thing that the 31-year-old has “no desire” for anymore.
What bothers the YouTuber? HandOfBlood reports that he received some quite unpleasant comments during his absence. Some viewers felt “mocked” and claimed he would not come back or complained about the lack of communication.
“You know, as if they pay, as if they pay admission,” the YouTuber explains, appearing visibly annoyed by the expectations of some fans.
Blizzard president Mike Ybarra is doing everything he can to meet the demands of the players. However, the quality of the games must not suffer. To achieve such performance, it requires funding from those very players.
What do players demand? Mike Ybarra stated in an interview with The Verge that players want new content daily or even hourly. Fans have no patience, and therefore Blizzard wants to try to meet these demands while maintaining a consistently high level of quality:
Players have no patience. They want something new every day, every hour. We’re trying to respond to that while keeping the Blizzard quality bar high.
Although these are absurdly high demands, Blizzard wants to respond to this player request. However, it would require a large development team to meet these demands. To manage this, the games would need to have the right monetization.
Blizzard would not shy away from launching new IPs. Ybarra is grateful for any idea, whether it be a title with a playtime of 4 hours or a long-term project with a playtime of 400 hours. The main thing is: If a player invests their money in Blizzard, they should feel good about it.
Blizzard held the BlizzCon last weekend. All major announcements have been summarized by MeinMMO author Benedict:
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Live from BlizzCon 2023: Screaming Fans and Unexpected Announcements
The content Blizzard will focus on in the future
What projects for financing will there be in the future? Both World of Warcraft and Diablo 4, Blizzard’s flagship titles, will be supplied with new expansions. Therefore, Blizzard’s focus remains heavily on live-service games.
However, Blizzard has more ideas to ensure “the right monetization” so that players receive new content constantly. The mobile sector is a rapidly growing area for Blizzard that could likely contribute significantly to financing.
Therefore, we can be curious about which other IPs we will see as mobile variants. If you are currently busy with Warcraft Rumble, you shouldn’t miss MeinMMO’s 3 beginner tips:
In a new Minecraft chapter, you embark on a journey into the far reaches of the galaxy. Star Wars: Path of the Jedi is the latest adventure in the pixel world, which was introduced in a trailer. Watch it here on MeinMMO.
What is it about? Since yesterday, November 7, 2023, you can get the new chapter Star Wars: Path of the Jedi in the Marketplace of Minecraft, which sends you on an exciting adventure as a Jedi Knight.
You are promised a journey into new worlds and the opportunity to unleash your imagination in an alien environment. The possibilities are said to be endless with so many undiscovered things.
We have embedded the trailer for the chapter here for you:
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Minecraft Star Wars: Path of the Jedi Trailer
What does the trailer show? In the trailer, you see the beginning of your journey as a Jedi Knight. After you have customized your lightsaber with color, grip, and your preferred stance, as well as your droids, the Council sends you off on your journey.
The trailer then shows battles in spaceships or on various planets. With your friends or alone, you can visit, for example, densely vegetated or desert-like planets.
The trailer also presents a variety of enemies that one knows from the Star Wars universe. For example, you will fight against the agile Droideka or IG-100 Magna Guards. In the end, even the Sith Lord Darth Maul stands in your way in the trailer.
In the fight, you will not only use your lightsaber. You will also be able to use the Force to your advantage and, for example, hurl huge blocks at your opponents.
In addition to the battles, your journey and mission to bring balance to the Force will present you with various puzzles that you can solve together. For example, you must use the Force to place objects in their correct position and open a new path.
What are the reactions? Under the trailer on the PlayStation channel (via YouTube), primarily Star Wars fans write, similar to user JayKayofficia, that this ironically looks like a better game than most Star Wars games in recent years.
User badbatsukablyet1768 also writes: If Minecraft achieves more Star Wars than Star Wars games. Good job, Disney.
In their comments under the trailer on the Minecraft channel via YouTube, players express their enthusiasm for this chapter and some note that the trailer looks more like a completely different game.
For example, user TootieLive thinks that this chapter looks like it has more effort than any Minecraft update of the last 5 years. User thundertrps4905 also finds that it looks incredible and resembles an independent game.
We have compiled some of the comments for you here:
nerdbird985 writes: My little brother and I enjoy this chapter so much. As big Star Wars fans, we are really happy. […] The studio behind it has done a fantastic job.
lolgoodbye8197 writes: […] this will be the first time I buy something from the Marketplace in Minecraft […]
BrodyLehnertz writes: So glad the skins are back to 8×8, looks much better than these ultra-realistic skins.
What do you think of the trailer? Does it make you excited for a Minecraft adventure with your lightsaber? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
The Twitch streamer Asmongold had promised his community to play a hardcore character in WoW Classic if Blizzard announces “Classic Plus.” Blizzard announced something similar for WoW Classic at BlizzCon 2023 with the “Season of Discovery,” and Asmongold wanted to keep his promise.
What was the promise about?
Asmongold had promised his community to play WoW Hardcore Classic for at least some time if Blizzard announces “WoW Classic Plus.” In WoW Hardcore, the hero only has one life, and the player must start over if the hero dies even once.
By “Classic Plus”, Asmongold understands an evolution of WoW based on an earlier game state, because the “retail WoW,” or the “modern WoW,” is in his opinion beyond saving. It is “too bloated.”
With Classic Plus, WoW would be developed in a different direction based on the state of 2009, with new raids and quality-of-life features.
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Twitch streamer Asmongold says: “Stop watching streams at 3 AM if you don’t have money!”
Streamer must keep his promise to play WoW Hardcore
That’s why he had to keep his promise: Blizzard did not announce “Classic Plus” at BlizzCon 2023, but with the “Season of Discovery” something similar. This season is supposed to actually develop WoW Classic differently than in the original by introducing glyphs that grant new abilities to classes:
Mages can heal
Rogues, shamans, and warlocks should be able to tank
Additionally, they want to hide some game content in the open world
For Asmongold, that was enough to make his promise come true and create a hardcore character.
Asmongold and his community flood hardcore servers
This is how he wanted to keep his promise: Asmongold created a level 1 warlock named “Classicplusx” on the hardcore server “Defias Pillager.” He did this live on stream.
Already during the login at the Alliance spawn point, hundreds of other level-1 Alliance players had spawned around him.
On the way to Stormwind, the crowd quickly grew to thousands, running around him, casting spells, spamming abilities, and offering to donate gold.
After about 37 minutes, during which Asmongold mostly basked in the crowd and his own significance (via Youtube), the streamer ended the show and said: He would love to play, but there were just too many people. He couldn’t do anything and didn’t want to kill anyone.
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What’s behind it: This was clearly a PR stunt, also to show how incredibly big and significant Asmongold is in the WoW community. He showcased this impressively.
Of course, he cannot just create a character on a server and then play WoW Hardcore “like a normal player” while streaming it live on Twitch.
How much this popularity sometimes annoys Asmongold can be inferred from this story:
From today, you can unlock normal flying in WoW: Dragonflight. We will tell you how it works.
With the launch of Patch 10.2 Watcher of Dreams, there is not only a new area and a new raid but also some other unlocks. One of the most requested wishes is the ability to use normal flying on the Dragon Isles. So far, it has only been possible to use “dynamic flying,” that is, dragon riding.
But with Patch 10.2 Watcher of Dreams, you can now earn normal flying. We will tell you how it works.
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4 Minutes of Gameplay for Dragon Riding, the new feature in WoW Dragonflight
Quickly unlock flying in Dragonflight
What do you have to do? To unlock normal flying, you need the meta achievement “Pathfinder of the Dragon Isles.” The principle is already known from other expansions. However, the individual achievements this time are significantly easier to unlock, and you should already have the vast majority of them if you actively play World of Warcraft. The 8 individual parts of the meta achievement are:
Awakening Hope: Complete the main quest chain on the Awakening Coast.
No Pain, No Gain: Complete the main quest chain in the Ohn’ahran Plains.
Azureblue Mountaineers: Complete the main quest chain in the Azure Mountains.
Don’t Ask Me How to Spell That: Complete the main quest chain in Thaldraszus.
Ember of Neltharion: Complete the main quest chain on the way to and in the Zaralek Cavern.
Explorer of the Dragon Isles: Fully explore all regions of the Dragon Isles.
Exploration of the Zaralek Cavern: Fully explore the Zaralek Cavern.
Explore the Emerald Dream: Fully explore the Emerald Dream.
If you have played actively, only the last part of the achievement, the exploration of the Emerald Dream, will still be missing:
This is what it looks like for active players.
What does normal flying bring? Although dragon riding was very well received by most players, there are still some who simply cannot get used to this new way of traveling and find no joy in the resource system.
For farming herbs and ores, some find the old flying more pleasant, in addition to the bonus that you can simply “go afk in the air” – this is not possible with dragon riding as the dragons would descend to the ground.
The latest patch for World of Warcraft is live. We will tell you what to expect and what you should definitely do today.
The wait is over, as today World of Warcraft Dragonflight has launched its final major chapter. The new patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream is live and brings plenty of new content to entertain players for several weeks. We will reveal what’s in the latest patch and what activities you should tackle as soon as possible.
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WoW: Guardians of the Dream – Launch Trailer
What should you accomplish? As with every new patch launch, you should primarily engage with the story at the beginning. Once you log in and enter the Dragon Isles, you will automatically be offered a quest from Merithra. She wants you to rush into the Emerald Dream to prepare the new world tree Amirdrassil for its transition into the realm of existence of Azeroth.
Complete the questlines in the Emerald Dream.
Gain reputation with the new faction “Dream Guardians” to reach glory levels.
Participate in new public events like the “Superbloom”.
Collect treasures and defeat rare enemies for rewards such as mounts, pets, or new forms for druids.
You can unlock “classic flying” for the Dragon Isles
When does the raid start? As usual, you have one week to prepare for the raid “Amirdrassil”. The third season of Dragonflight starts on 11/15/2023, and with that, the new raid. You should have enough time to view the new zone leisurely and experience the story before facing Fyrakk and the inhabitants of the Firelands in the final major battle of Dragonflight.
A particularly lucrative item is a new legendary two-handed axe that is available for all strength classes in the game. You can earn it in the raid and will likely carry it until the next expansion.
Is there more to come? Yes. Even though patch 10.2 is the last “major” update of Dragonflight, the developers have already announced that there will be more patches to follow. There is supposed to be an epilogue that concludes the story and then gradually leads to the plot of the next expansion “The War Within”. Additionally, there will definitely be a season 4 (similar to Shadowlands), where all raids will become relevant again. This is intended to shorten the waiting time until the next addon and to provide enough to do.
Have you checked out patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream yet? How do you like the latest update of WoW?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A free playable demo for the strategy game Zephon has launched on Steam, a mix of Warhammer 40k and Civilization 6, with a strong focus on combat. The strategy game takes place in a near future where the apocalypse has wiped out large parts of humanity. Humans and machines defend the remnants of our civilization against creatures straight out of a nightmare.
This is the story of Zephon:
In Zephon, humanity faced a divine trial, where most failed and were therefore crushed. Billions of lives were wiped out in an instant, ‘turned to ash and scattered to the winds.’
After the near-total extinction of humanity, the remains of civilization fight with weapons, vehicles, and their technology against nightmarish creatures in a devastated world.
The game is set to release on Steam in 2024. At the moment, a free demo on Steam is already playable. The demo is about 3.13 GB in size and can be downloaded in a few minutes.
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Gameplay trailer for the strategy game Zephon
City building and a lot of combat in a nightmarish version of our world
What does the game remind you of? Zephon is at its core a 4X game like Civilization VI or Age of Wonders 4, but with a strong focus on combat, similar to Warhammer 40k.
You start with an engineer (in other games this would be a settler); two infantry units and a vehicle, can establish an initial city, but also quickly face massive monsters that require several rounds of continuous fire before they are finally defeated. The game is controlled on a kind of hexagonal map in turn-based strategy mode.
The city-building part looks solid, albeit somewhat minimalistic. There is also a research tree and diplomacy, as one would expect.
In comparison to Civilization VI, the focus on battles is much more pronounced: In Zephon, the world is hostile. Here you don’t have 30 turns to leisurely explore the surroundings, as in classic 4X games.
If the game reminds you of the dark atmosphere and mythological apocalyptic themes of Warhammer 40k, you are right. The game comes from Proxy Studios, who are also behind Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War, but here they are experimenting with some other IPs.
The demo gives a first glimpse of the game and the gameplay on a small map – strategy fans should quickly feel at home here.
Most will probably lean back after a brief play session and wait for the game to be properly released in 2024, so they can get a clearer picture of how deep and atmospheric Zephon really is.
The scenario already sounds like a change from the usual titles:
With “Top Boy,” viewers are drawn into a drama series on Netflix that showcases poignant destinies and lawless life on the streets. MeinMMO author Christos isn’t fond of Netflix series, but this one kept him occupied for days.
What kind of series is it? The series is called “Top Boy” and takes place in the fictional ghetto “Summerhouse” in London. However, it is not the predecessor from 2011 but the continuation that was produced and continued on Netflix in 2019.
Top Boy tells the story of young adults and teenagers who grow up in this ghetto and live together in social housing. The residents are mostly Jamaican immigrants who are not or barely supported by the system in London.
The series takes a different approach, as it not only demonstrates the harshness of the streets and gangs but also the fates and suffering that their families have to endure. At first, I thought “Top Boy” would be a cliché-laden collection of wannabe gangsters showing how cool it is on the streets, but I was truly mistaken.
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Top Boy – Trailer for the Netflix series of Season 1 (English)
Exciting tension with hard reality
What makes the series so good? I am a fan of series that show realistic fates and demonstrate how hard life can be anyway. In the case of “Top Boy,” however, I never thought that the series could make me feel so invested.
It is mainly the tension surrounding the characters, who join and develop further with each episode. Jamie, one of the main characters of the series, plays a central role. He wants to support his two younger brothers and provide for them in Summerhouse, but this is only possible with his gang and drug dealing.
Since both parents have passed away, he sees no other choice but the street. Thus, he seizes the opportunity and tries to become the next “Top Boy,” that is, the boss of Summerhouse, and to decimate the competition on the streets.
However, the focus of the story is not only on drug dealing; it also includes the backstories of the individual characters. Each character leads a kind of double life: Jamie, for example, tries to earn money on the street while simultaneously keeping his brother away from the harsh reality.
Suffering comes ever closer, as families are either harassed by the Immigration Authority or come under the radar of other gangs, even though they are not responsible for it.
It is a balancing act between hard reality, the law of the street, and the sacrifice of doing everything for family, even if blood ultimately sticks to the hands. The series remains exciting and surprises with further fates and twists that one could not foresee.
Still, I do not think much of Netflix series, as I often felt they were produced without care or depth, but in the case of “Top Boy,” I make an exception. I would even say it is the best series I have watched in 2023, and the good thing is, it also got its concluding season this year.
So, anyone who wants to watch three seasons full of thrills without an annoying cliffhanger should not miss “Top Boy,” and don’t worry: the predecessor is not necessary to understand the continuation.
Some people are concerned that World of Warcraft could come to an end after the next three expansions. Blizzard has clearly addressed this.
The fact that Blizzard announced the ‘Worldsoul Saga’ with three expansions initially brought a lot of joy. However, after the initial hype, concern started to mix with this announcement. Could this perhaps mean that after ‘WoW: The Last Titan’ the era of World of Warcraft is ending and development will stop?
To reassure all players who have this thought, General Manager John Hight spoke on the matter and explained: World of Warcraft is not coming to an end yet.
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WoW: The War Within – All the major features of the new expansion
Where does the information come from? In an interview with the magazine Digital Trends, John Hight spoke about the future of the game. This discussion was not only about the upcoming three expansions but also about the time thereafter.
What was said? In response to the question of how the ‘Worldsoul Saga’ would conclude the current chapter, he gave a pretty clear answer that should alleviate concerns:
This is not the end of World of Warcraft; this is the end of this great chapter. We will create more expansions even after this.
However, there will be some changes. In the future, World of Warcraft aims to release expansions more quickly.
Currently, the time between two expansions is about 24-30 months, which is more than two years. Hight said in the same interview:
Our ultimate goal is to release content at a reliable pace, so players know when to expect the next expansion. We would like to do this more frequently because we do not want people to wait two years for an addon.
While we are not yet ready to commit to a new release speed because we still need to find the healthy balance: between the time we need and the moment when players signal to us that they are ready.
The future of World of Warcraft looks overwhelmingly positive. More content, more expansions, and certainly no end in sight. At least for now – because criticism often arises that WoW needs a ‘relaunch’ in the form of ‘WoW 2’ sooner or later.
