John Romita Senior passed away at the age of 93. His son John Romita Junior has now heartfully announced this. His father passed away peacefully. The death is a great loss for the Marvel comic world.
What is John Romita Senior known for? When it comes to the Marvel universe, most of you probably immediately think of Stan Lee. But Lee is only involved as a writer of the comics. John Romita Senior was the artist of “The Amazing Spider-Man” comics for several years. He replaced Steve Ditko as the artist in 1966, shortly after which he was hired as an art director at Marvel.
We owe it to him that Spider-Man was given his distinctive drawing style. Romita had his first contact with a superhero in 1954 when he illustrated the reissue of Captain America.
Now his son, who is also an artist, hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps. You can read his touching words in the original English here:
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The first comic strips of Spider-Man were even drawn together by the father-son duo. The first comic strips were published in 1970. At that time, Romita Junior was 14 years old.
In the meantime, Romita Senior was even employed by the competition. In 1957 he left Marvel and drew stories for girls at DC Comics. However, the series was canceled in 1965 and the artist returned to Marvel, where he created his greatest success.
Did he still draw comics at the age of 93? No, he stopped doing that decades ago. John Romita Senior left the “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic in the 1970s when he became art director at Marvel. There he created a new series with “Spidey Super Stories” aimed at children.
Currently, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is exciting moviegoers. Check out the trailer for the film here:
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Trailer 3 (English) HD
How are fans reacting? On Twitter, the account spideymemoir shares an image from the Spider-Man comic. It shows how the suit is left behind in the trash. Rain is pouring down and darkening the mood:
Another user has found a comparison image showing the scene depicted in the comic as a movie adaptation:
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On June 14, Diablo 4 received a new patch. It mainly brought adjustments to items and dungeons. However, some players are now complaining: there have been secret nerfs for all players. MeinMMO has investigated
This is what the players say: In a forum thread, about a dozen players complain that they are doing significantly less damage since the patch. Their numbers are lower, and they are having more problems in the nightmare dungeons than before.
This affects all classes, it is a “stealth nerf” for everyone. The thread quickly shifts into a complaint expressing general dissatisfaction with Blizzard and the patch policy. Continuous nerfs are not the right way; they are no fun, it is said.
However, no verifiable evidence is provided here. The user Aikon merely claims: “I can guarantee 100% that this really happened. I just talked to a friend on Discord about how I was still able to run a nightmare seal at level 50 without problems yesterday, while today I had issues in a level 46.”
He plays an ice shard build for the sorceress, one of the currently best builds for the class according to Diablo 4 Tier List. Nevertheless, he has problems at level 83.
Some nerfs were apparently actually necessary. Barbarians could kill the toughest boss in the game in just a few minutes, while others fail even after five times that time:
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Diablo 4: A build is so strong that Blizzard has directly disabled 2 items – even kills the hardest boss
Players are mad: “Damage nerfs for everyone” – hardly anyone agrees
Were there really nerfs? This cannot be confirmed. Blizzard itself does not mention any nerfs, there are no inquiries or confirmations about it on Twitter. Even on Reddit, which is known for immediately criticizing such “secret nerfs” loudly and strongly, there is silence.
There is only one thread that picks up exactly the conversation from the forum, but it is hardly commented on. A few people there say: if that is true, they are gone. Others advise: those who want to have fun with the game should stay away from social media. One user laughs about the forum and mocks: “And I thought Reddit is bad.”
So whether there were actually nerfs is hard to say, but probably not.
I also tried a few nightmare dungeons as examples and found no differences to yesterday. However, dungeons have a tendency to have significant differences even at the same level.
The affixes change with each run and can be easier or harder, depending on the class. So it may happen that you breeze through a “higher” dungeon, while a “lower” one wipes the floor with you. You can find more about this in the overview:
World of Warcraft is known for being one of the longest-lasting and most successful MMORPGs on the market. However, it is also well-known that the MMORPG, as it ages, despite occasional fresh updates, appears rather outdated. The latest example discovered by a player leaves no doubt about it.
What did the player discover? The Twitter user @KENOASTRAL turns out to be a WoW player who is active on the social media platform. A particular tweet has caused quite a stir. It was about graphical oddities in the MMORPG.
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Among them are orc and tauren babies who, to put it mildly, seem to consist of very few polygons. Their faces look as if they were slapped on, as if the label had shifted slightly. It is certainly not for the faint of heart.
How are other users reacting to this?Twitter user @EiyaWoW succinctly states what he thinks: THIS IS DISTURBING. The user @itsJuanSolos even advocates renaming “Children’s Week to Bread Week,” as the little critters are covered in a texture resembling that of bread.
Furthermore, Twitter user @Schrei205 further amused himself by stating that it’s no wonder Sylvanas had eaten babies.
Whether the graphics will change afterward, as was the case with the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, remains to be seen. So far, Blizzard has not commented on whether WoW will receive a completely overhauled graphics update. However, analysts now assume such a revision.
How do you see it? Do the babies seem like stale bread to you? Does the MMORPG really need a fresh update or would that lose the charm of the current graphic style? Feel free to share your opinion in our comments.
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
Cooldown of shouts reduced, depending on the number of enemies
Also, keep an eye out for Unique items that expand your build starting from World Tier 3.
Whirlwind Build – Skill Tree / Skills
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Whirlwind Build – Equipment Values & Gems
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
Cooldown of shouts reduced, depending on the number of enemies
Also, keep an eye out for Unique items that expand your build starting from World Tier 3.
Whirlwind Build – Skill Tree / Skills
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Whirlwind Build – Equipment Values & Gems
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
Here you will find the foundation for one of the best builds for the Barbarian class in Diablo 4 – in English, with a complete skill tree, important legendary aspects, and recommendations for your equipment.
What is this build? You will find a Whirlwind build for Barbarians in Diablo 4 here. You yell at your enemies, whirl through enemy lines, and deal bleeding damage as well as increasing critical damage.
The build is an evolution of my Barbarian build, which is actually purely focused on bleeding damage. With the help of some completely optimized endgame builds, such as from Maxroll.gg, I have expanded my build and will show you the most important components.
Note: The build is a basis with which you can further specialize. You can start using it at level 50 and continue to build in synergies that increase your rage generation, make better use of the bleeding debuff, and further reduce your cooldowns. Here is a Level Build for Barbarians.
How does the build work? With your shouts, you bring your power and that of your allies to a new level and dismantle every larger enemy group with a dizzying Whirlwind.
The twist: The skill “Whirlwind” can be channeled – you can use it as long as your primary resource, rage, is not depleted.
Skills and Legendary aspects ensure that you get a steady supply of rage. In addition, you deal bleeding with the “Whirlwind” and build strong synergies with the debuff. Also the important debuff “Vulnerability” gets a bit of attention.
Ignite the shout skills “War Cry”, “Challenging Shout” and “Battle Cry” and whirl through the enemies without regard for losses. However, you should have a few remedies for nausea ready.
Pro
Starter aspects can be found in dungeons
Distributes bleeding and scales with it
Strong against vulnerable enemies
Simple gameplay
You can move and deal damage
Contra
Dependent on the cooldown of your shouts
Damage against single targets
For continuous “Whirlwind” you need additional aspects
You are always in melee combat
Whirlwind Build – Aspects to Start
For a good start in the Whirlwind build, you do not need to loot any aspects. Here are four strong aspects from dungeons that you can start with directly. However, keep in mind that you can also loot these aspects – then they are always stronger.
You should always forge the “Aspect of the Terrible Whirlwind” onto your weapons, as it is clearly stronger here than on other equipment pieces and important for dealing strong damage to your enemies.
The aspects are also stronger on the amulet. Choose a suitable one that further specializes your build. Here are some aspects that would expand your build, but that you can only loot:
Aspect of Berserker Rage
Rage generation while “Berserker” is active
Brave Aspect
Cooldown of shouts reduced, depending on the number of enemies
Also, keep an eye out for Unique items that expand your build starting from World Tier 3.
Whirlwind Build – Skill Tree / Skills
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Whirlwind Build – Equipment Values & Gems
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
Cooldown of shouts reduced, depending on the number of enemies
Also, keep an eye out for Unique items that expand your build starting from World Tier 3.
Whirlwind Build – Skill Tree / Skills
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Whirlwind Build – Equipment Values & Gems
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
Cooldown of shouts reduced, depending on the number of enemies
Also, keep an eye out for Unique items that expand your build starting from World Tier 3.
Whirlwind Build – Skill Tree / Skills
Here are our recommended skills for building a strong Whirlwind build:
Basic Skills
Battle Jump – 1/5
Core Skills
Furious Whirlwind – 5/5
Pressure Point – 3/3
Defensive Skills
Tactical War Cry – 5/5
Tactical Challenging Shout – 5/5
Brawler Skills
Strong Battle Cry – 2/5
Thunderous Voice – 3/3
Hearty Cry – 3/3
Assault Command – 3/3
Aggressive Resistance – 1/3
Fruiting Fury – 3/3
Weapon Mastery
Minefighter – 3/3
Stun – 1/3
To the Bones – 3/3
Ultimate Skills
Superior Berserker’s Rage
More is More – 3/3
Core Passive Skills
Unrestrained Rage
Be careful with “Unrestrained Rage”: The passive skill drastically increases your rage consumption. Stick to something else for now if your “Whirlwind” breaks off too quickly.
Use a two-handed sword for your skills, so a “Slashing Weapon” to deal more damage against bleeding enemies. A two-handed axe fits in your technique slot, which hurts vulnerable enemies extra. Learn here how to switch weapons.
Always look for strong synergies and see if some passive skill works better when you exchange aspects or skills.
Whirlwind Build – Equipment Values & Gems
Here are some recommendations for the values on your equipment.
Weapons: Emerald
Armor: Ruby
Jewelry: Skull
Always pay attention to high weapon damage on your weapons, even if it means accepting bad secondary values – for Barbarians, damage on the weapon is essential.
Here are some important secondary values for your equipment:
Pay attention to the different value distributions on the equipment parts. Boots can provide movement speed, gloves have a chance for the value Critical Hit Chance. Find values that fit the Whirlwind playstyle.
What’s next? Focus on the strength value and glyphs on the Paragon board that further exploit your bleeding effect. There are many glyphs that promise you strong bonuses here. Strengthen your effects in the following order:
In Pokémon GO trainers want to catch cool Pokémon. However, some special and rare monsters have been missing for quite some time.
What kind of list is this? In Pokémon GO, one has the opportunity to catch a variety of monsters. The new season “Hidden Gems” brings a multitude of Pokémon, raid bosses can be battled, and research can be completed.
However, in Pokémon GO, the entire field of Pokémon is never available, and there may be some monsters that you missed. But don’t worry: usually, most cool monsters will return eventually.
However, there are some special Pokémon that have not been seen since their last appearance for a very long time – and for some, it’s uncertain whether they will ever return.
We are taking a closer look at some of them here.
Start video
Pokémon GO shows the new season ‘Hidden Gems’ in the trailer
And that’s a shame because the monster not only has an iconic design but is also a good candidate for PvP battles. In raids, however, its regular version is more useful – and that one does appear from time to time.
The Clone Pokémon
The clone variants of Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur
Anyone who has seen the original Pokémon movie or the new version from 2019 will remember the Clone Pokémon, which fit very well with Armored Mewtwo. The clone variants of Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur are noticeable due to their distinct patterns and are real collector favorites in Pokémon GO.
Let’s stick to Pokémon that landed in the game on the occasion of movies: The mysterious Dark Monkey Pokémon Zarude was available in a special research in the autumn of 2021. So anyone who started in the last year and a half has not had the chance to catch Zarude yet.
There are plenty of special event variants of Pikachu in Pokémon GO. Some were seen more often, others less. However, a particularly popular collector’s item was Pikachu with Surfer, which reminds us of the yellow edition. This special variant first appeared during its Community Day in 2018. Then it was available again in 2019 during the big December Community Day and around the Kanto Tour in 2021, but has since disappeared.
Of course, Pikachu with Surfer is not an extremely strong Pokémon, but it is very popular among collectors. Whether it will return is open – but a Community Day Classic or something similar, like with our next candidate, is conceivable.
Squirtle with Sunglasses
The Squirtle Squad still has a place in the hearts of long-time Pokémon fans. The sunglasses Squirtle was also catchable in Pokémon GO, originally for its Community Day in 2018.
Then it reappeared in 2021 as an event Pokémon during an Ed Sheeran concert in Pokémon GO. Those who missed it at that time or have not played since have not yet had the chance to catch it again.
The special thing: It is already clear when it will return. Namely for its Community Day Classic in July 2023. And that gives hope that perhaps the other monsters will also appear again.
In addition to the monsters mentioned here, there are many others that have only been seen rarely. The Apex version of Lugia and Ho-Oh, for example, or of course rare monsters like Mew. Which Pokémon do you miss the most? Did you miss any? Let us know in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Additionally, 86% of over 65,000 ratings for Hell Let Loose on Steam are positive, and it is considered a kind of hidden gem among shooter fans.
Which trailer is in question? In June, several gaming events took place, such as the Summer Game Fest, where numerous trailers were shown. Among them was the “PC Gaming Show 2023.” There, Team 17 showed a new trailer for Hell Let Loose, which introduced the upcoming update “Devotion to Duty.”
Part of the update is supposed to be a new game mode that is shorter and faster than the usual “Hell Let Loose” matches and includes only 25 players per team. In the standard mode, up to 100 players compete against each other on historical battlefields.
You can watch the trailer from the PC Gaming Show 2023 here:
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What do players say about the trailer? The community of Hell Let Loose is anything but thrilled with the trailer and is passing a harsh judgment. Some find the trailer simply ugly, while others find it shameful. Overall, there is a lot of criticism (via YouTube):
Bipolaroo: “I think I speak for a large part of the community when I say that this is single-handedly one of the worst trailers for the game ever released. How can you make it look so bad?” – 885 likes
nachode8007: “[…] Let’s hope their skills in game development are better than in making trailers.” -774 likes
shrenko: As a long-time ‘Hell Let Loose’ player, that was really very embarrassing. – 407 likes
Omega59er: “This trailer is a disgrace. Team17 should be ashamed to have sent this to PCGamer to show it to 25,000+ people.” – 213 likes
Overall, the mood in the community is currently not so rosy. Recent ratings on Steam are only at 57% – very low compared to the strong 86% that Hell Let Loose has been able to gather over the past years.
Many fans accuse the development team of not caring about the game. One player even writes on Steam: “This was one of those ‘rough diamond’ games […] but it is time to realize that the developers/publishers (Team17) do not care about this game.”
Hell Let Loose also has really cool or at least less failed trailers:
Start video
Hell Let Loose im Trailer
Developers apologize: “We are sorry”
What do the developers say? After the harsh criticism of the new trailer, the developers are now speaking out. In a statement released on Steam, they write that they are sorry and apologize for the disappointment:
We are sorry. We had hoped to present an exciting and engaging trailer for our next update ‘Devotion to Duty’, but unfortunately, we did not meet expectations. We understand that you were eagerly anticipating the trailer, and we deeply apologize for the disappointment, frustration, and feeling of disappointment in the community.
In the statement, the development team also addresses the currently generally difficult state of the game and says they are working to improve the player experience but are progressing more slowly with the core gameplay and meta than planned. In the future, they want to learn better from player feedback.
Not only the anti-Battlefield has a difficult situation, the real Battlefield has also been struggling since its release to win back its disappointed fans. At least the new season trailer is well received:
The Twitch streamer Kylee “justfoxii” Carter (25) was just on vacation when she received a call from her crying mother: Her car was on fire. Apparently, a viewer had set the sports car on fire.
The American streamer justfoxii mainly showcases games like Fortnite and CS:GO on her Twitch channel for her nearly 600,000 followers. However, since February 2021, she has been streaming less and less.
In a video that was released in the morning of June 14 our time, the 25-year-old now says that she has had problems with stalking for the last year and a half. This has been very stressful.
The stalking reached its sad peak with an incident that occurred about 3 weeks ago: A viewer allegedly set fire to the streamer’s car.
The car, a Jaguar Type F, was completely destroyed.
Twitch streamers increasingly report cases of so-called parasocial fans who develop a relationship with them. Amouranth now wants to counter this with artificial intelligence:
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Amouranth wants to allow her fans more closeness – Artificial Intelligence should achieve this
Streamer was on vacation when her car went up in flames
This is how the streamer learned about the fire: As justfoxii reports, she was just on vacation when she received a call from her mother around 2 AM. Her mother tearfully informed her that someone had set her car on fire. She then apologized and mentioned that the police were there.
How did justfoxii react? Since the streamer was far from home, she couldn’t do much. So she watched the footage from the security camera on her phone.
I saw my car in flames. That was the first thing I saw. I just couldn’t believe I was seeing my car, which I worked so hard for, burning. It is very hurtful that someone would take that from me, and I will never be able to understand it.
Fortunately, the cameras also recorded the perpetrator. The streamer then looked at this footage next. In it, she saw a man placing a brick on her car, putting a pot of some sort on top, and igniting it.
After his misdeed, the man casually strolled away as if nothing had happened. You can find the video from justfoxii here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br81nqoqXbw&t=40s
justfoxii says it is hard to motivate herself to stream
How is the streamer doing? According to justfoxii, while no one was hurt, the shock still runs deep: “We are all traumatized in a way I could never describe.”
The fire is said to have spread to the fence and the side of the house, but fortunately, the fire department arrived quickly. The streamer is very grateful for that, as her mother and her pets were in the house at the time.
What happens next? According to justfoxii, the perpetrator is said to be a Twitch viewer who drove over 1,100 kilometers to her house to carry out his plan. This makes it even worse, the 25-year-old says.
He is said to be in police custody now. Nevertheless, it will take some time before the streamer can return to her routine:
I have always loved streaming so much, but it is so difficult to find the motivation when all of this is happening.
Thus, justfoxii explains that she probably won’t be able to properly “grind” again until the matter is somewhat resolved. There is also supposed to be a follow-up video about the incident later this year. For now, the streamer is saying goodbye and thanking her fans for their support.
Players of Destiny 2 are increasingly expressing their dissatisfaction and openly stating that the once brilliant title has lost its shine. The reasons for this disappointment are varied, ranging from lack of content to persistent and unfixed bugs, along with questionable decisions made by the developers.
Destiny 2 between Light and Darkness: Once, the reveal of Destiny in 2013 was a promising start. A sci-fi shooter set in our solar system, yet representing a fantastic universe full of magic and mysteries. A world based on hope and an eternal struggle between light and darkness.
However, for some Guardians, there seems to be little light left from the magic.
Many players have been in the Destiny universe for almost a decade and are feeling tired and saturated over the years.
Additionally, there have been numerous changes from Bungie and problems that have plagued the shooter for quite some time and are simply not getting smaller.
Those who are knowledgeable can find every bug in the game that can quickly ruin their day. Even a round of PvP or Gambit adds to the frustration, and Bungie has a lot of work to do in fixing the increasingly frequent bugs. This increases the game’s downtimes and also the frustration level of the community.
When the current DLC “Lightfall” 2023 couldn’t score points and frustrated players with bugs and a cliffhanger story, many long-time players began to think about drawing a final line after the release of “The Final Shape,” the last DLC of the first saga.
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Destiny 2: Teaser trailer for the DLC “The Final Form”
“Does anyone else consider quitting?”
This is a big topic in the community: Players emphasize that it’s not that they have lost the joy of the game. On the contrary. They still appreciate the fun and excitement that Destiny gives them as Guardians. But therein lies the problem.
Destiny 2 is a game played with great passion because destiny is personally important, and because one has experienced so many remarkable moments in it. And Destiny 1 veterans love their original Destiny.
Developers have started making decisions that feel wrong for some players and that don’t reward them enough for their time.
At the same time, Bungie is not making improvements in other areas to counterbalance this bland taste.
Bosses have incredibly high health. Raids are not a challenge, but solo dungeons without bugs now take 60–90 minutes.
Grinding for XP is the same as always, only that in Season 21 there’s no top loot to grind anymore. Hardly any Guardian wants to do the same every single season for the highest Guardian rank “Exemplar” to prove their skills.
The burden of cheaters, lack of love for PvP including matchmaking tests, the forgetfulness of Gambit, and the recycling of content that is simply known.
The rest is done by the toxic Destiny community: The Guardian TheK1ll1ona1re states that the endless arguments, the constant complaints about Destiny on forums and news sites as well as social media, and often negative reporting further poison the game climate and dampen enthusiasm even more.
The community outside of my clan is probably the most toxic fanbase I’ve ever seen. Whether it’s against each other or against the developers, I’m just tired of seeing all the whining, hate, arguments, etc.
“Everyone must make a decision eventually – Light or Darkness?”
Some Guardians who have been there since the first year and have experienced numerous expansions, raids, dungeons, and seasons are now saying that the game is getting on their nerves more often for the reasons listed. This is also true in the comments on MeinMMO.
One Guardian even wishes that Destiny 2 should take the decision to quit the game off his hands after the DLC “The Final Shape”:
I want the story to end so that it’s okay for me to give up the game and move on with my life.
Given the criticisms, it’s understandable that players want to take a break from the game to rediscover their passion and wait to see which direction Bungie will take.
As the last DLC approaches, the developer faces the crucial challenge: Bungie must take the wishes and needs of its players seriously to preserve the game from the ultimate loss of the loyal Guardian community.
Cayde-6 alone will not be enough in “The Final Shape.”
Even if fate has lost its shine for some right now, there is still hope that Bungie finds a way to meet expectations and revive the game that once excited millions of players and is to continue to excite even after 2025.
However, this could take some time, as Bungie is already working on the content for the upcoming seasons and expansions. Because throwing everything overboard in hindsight and all of a sudden isn’t really or only very poorly possible.
Destiny 2 still has a large fanbase and also players – especially when there’s something new to do and because there’s hardly any game that possesses that special feel of Destiny. For many new Guardians, Destiny 2 is still that one captivating adventure from back then. They now feel what others have forgotten years ago and wander through the game with sparkling eyes.
But every Guardian has their own journey and their own reasons, whether it is about remaining loyal to the game because they are just discovering it or finding a point of closure because they just don’t want to deal with it anymore.
How do you feel in Season 21 of Destiny 2? Do you share the thoughts of putting a stop to your time with the loot shooter? And would you also wish that Bungie takes the decision off your hands and just finishes Destiny 2?
Or do you say: No, I still enjoy the game, even in tough times when I play less, and I can’t imagine what it would be like if it suddenly weren’t there anymore? Then feel free to let us know in the comments.
The cow level is a gimmick that has accompanied Diablo since the first part. The secret level actually doesn’t exist, yet it provides good loot. Now, fans of Diablo 4 are diligently searching for a way to find this area in the latest installment.
What is the cow level about?
Since Diablo 2, there has been a secret level in the Diablo games that can only be unlocked through a convoluted, hidden quest.
The “cow level” requires special items to open and is an area full of evil cows wielding weapons that beat you up. Finding the entrance requires the collective memory of the players.
Is there a cow level in Diablo 4? Officially not. The Diablo head, Rod Fergusson, stated in an interview: the cow level does not fit Diablo 4, so it doesn’t exist. He doesn’t even know what it should be. Cows with halberds? Sounds absurd.
However, the statement itself means nothing. Since the existence of Diablo, Blizzard has denied its existence – even though the level is clearly and unequivocally in the game. “There is no cow level” is the running gag in the Diablo community.
Because apparently, there are indeed some hints about the cow level in Diablo 4. Numerous clues have already been found:
In Kehjistan, there are ox statues that prompt interaction: “Spill your blood to prove your worth”
according to game data, all statues there belong to a “puzzle”
in the quests of Diablo 4, one of the barbarian clans has to prove itself “worthy,” another clan is already called the ox clan, there could be a connection here
Moreover, players have already found items that could be related to the puzzle: a “Bloody Wooden Shard” and a “Musty Tome“. The shard is named W, a reference to Wirt’s leg. The book apparently refers to the tome of portals. Both were items from Diablo 2 that were necessary to open the cow level.
However, the “serious” research does not go much further. A few players suspect that the map design already holds a hint about the level (via YouTube). Others find some bells and items that seemingly indicate the ringing of cow bells.
In a thread on Reddit, a player also writes: He slaughtered all the cows in Act 2, after all, he was supposed to spill blood. But it didn’t work. Another even found a way to kill cows that are normally non-attackable.
Finally, there is speculation whether there really is no cow level at the moment and Blizzard is indeed telling the truth. Or if the real cow level is the friends we make along the way. Or if the players are the cows that are to be milked.
Either way, the hunt is currently creating quite a mad collaboration among the players. And shows that they are willing to spill the blood of the innocent for certain achievements:
Ezra Miller makes his first public appearance after two years. At the premiere of the DC film “The Flash”, Miller addressed fans and industry representatives and spoke openly for the first time about the behavioral allegations and the legal issues Miller is involved in.
What did Ezra Miller say? First, Miller publicly thanked David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery. Then followed Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, the directors of the Warner Bros. Film Group, as well as James Gunn and Peter Safran, the heads of DC Studios.
Miller is grateful that the involved parties approached the case impartially. Miller expresses gratitude with the following words:
[I thank for] their grace, their judgment, and their care regarding my life. And for making this moment a reality.
The studio announced that this promotional appearance will be the only one for Miller. This will likely not apply to other actors like Sasha Calle, who steps in for Henry Cavill. He is occupied with the filming of a Warhammer series.
Director Andrés Muschietti welcomed Miller with kind words and praised the acting work in “The Flash”.
In the following trailer, you can see Ezra Miller as The Flash:
Start video
The Flash – German Trailer
What are the allegations against Miller? In the past two years, Miller has led a turbulent life and accumulated numerous criminal charges. In April 2020, a video went viral showing Miller choking a woman. According to Miller’s own statement, he was provoked and threatened by teenagers beforehand.
In March 2022, Miller was involved in a physical altercation with guests at a karaoke bar and was subsequently arrested. Here, Miller was allegedly insulted and attacked by a person who claimed to be a neo-Nazi.
But the series of legal issues does not stop: In June 2022, a court issued a temporary protection order against Miller on behalf of 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes. According to her parents, Miller allegedly influenced the then 12-year-old child through violence and drugs. There were subsequent restraining orders in another case involving an 11-year-old child and a prison sentence for trespassing in January 2023.
The Iranian university, in collaboration with the military, has unveiled a quantum processor with which they aim to revolutionize data processing. However, the displayed circuit board is likely just a developer mainboard that can even be purchased on Amazon.
What’s the deal with the presentation? Habibollah Sayyari is a rear admiral and deputy coordinator of the Iranian army, and showcased at an event the “first product of quantum processing,” as the processor was grandly announced.
During the presentation, he holds the few centimeters large circuit board in his hands, which, while displaying a nice circuit pattern, somehow looked too rudimentary to really be a breakthrough in quantum technology.
This was also recognized by former U.S. State Department advisor on Iran, Gabriel Noronha. He researched and shortly thereafter shared a picture from Amazon on Twitter, showing the same board. It is a development board that costs only 589 dollars – or converted 555 euros.
It offers only 512 MB of DDR3 memory and a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, which was already released in 2007. So the board is anything but a breakthrough. The Iranian news agency Tasmin has since replaced the image in the title with another one.
Quantum processors are supposed to massively improve calculation times
What makes the technology so exciting? Quantum processors – also called quantum computers – are supposed to exploit the laws of quantum mechanics and thus perform calculations faster. Instead of using fixed numbers, as is common with computers today, the quantum computer is supposed to calculate in qubits.
It doesn’t matter at first whether the qubits represent a 1 or a 0; they exist in a kind of superposition in between. Through entanglements, a qubit can make statements about the states of other qubits.
You find yourself in the middle of a very complex maze, with one or two exits and millions of paths that end in dead ends. If you walked through the maze and went through each path and each fork separately, it would take forever to find the exit. That’s how classical computers would search the maze for the exits.
However, consider the case where not only you are searching the maze alone but have a lot of clones who are jointly searching the maze. They can tell each other which paths lead to dead ends, thus speeding up the search for the exit.
A quantum computer would search the paths for the exit simultaneously, with the clones being different qubits in the quantum computer. You can thus see that more qubits can significantly increase performance.
Currently, many large tech companies are working on quantum computers, including Google, IBM, Alibaba, Honeywell, and Amazon. Google focuses on using a large number of qubits, while Honeywell works on commercial computers. Amazon, on the other hand, is working on a cloud solution.
Although there are already operational computers that can be accessed remotely, the system is not optimized for private use and is not necessarily ideal. It is more suited for complex calculations and encryptions.
With the beginning of the second season in WoW: Dragonflight, you can once again use the Awakening Catalyst to convert your loot into tier set pieces. There were also a few changes in Patch 10.1. You can find out how to use it here.
Where can you find the Catalyst? The Catalyst can be found in the area of Thaldraszus, specifically at Tyrhold. There you will encounter a Revitalizer named Antuka, who will assist you in converting your items accordingly.
To reach the Awakening Catalyst, there was also the corresponding quest at Koranos in Valdrakken (on the tower) with Patch 10.0.5.
Check out all the new features in Patch 10.1 for WoW: Dragonflight here.
Start video
WoW: Patch 10.1 Ember of Neltharion is live – Here is what to expect starting now
How does the Catalyst work? The layout of the window for the Awakening Catalyst is quite simple. You will see 2 windows. In one of them, you click on the plus symbol, where you select the item you want to convert.
Then click on convert, and you will have the new item in your hand. However, the item level of the item will not change during the conversion. For example, if you throw a chest with item level 410 into the Catalyst, the tier set item will also have item level 410 afterward.
To use the Catalyst, you need charges. In season 1, you earned the charges by completing quests for it. These activities always granted you a proportional value of the charge. You could earn charges for all characters, but the charge was only consumed for the character that used it.
What changes are there in Season 2? Starting today, you can convert loot from the Aberrus raid of the second season with the Awakening Catalyst. Once the Awakening Catalyst is unlocked for this, all players will receive the revived shadow flame for each of their characters.
From now on, players will receive the revived shadow flame per character every week. The account-wide quest for this has been removed. Additionally, there are no further costs for the Awakening Catalyst other than the revived shadow flame.
Furthermore, items from previous seasons can be converted for free in each new season. Unfortunately, this option is still inactive at the moment.
The gaming-YouTuber Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe (30) always gives his all for his videos. With his portrayal of Gollum in the eponymous game of The Lord of the Rings, he has now surpassed himself: Fans call it the role of his life.
What kind of game is it? The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the latest game in the Tolkien universe and was released on May 25, 2023, receiving mostly negative reviews. Critics gave the adventure a disastrous rating of 34 (PS5) and 39 (PC) out of 100 points.
Players received Gollum even worse: It currently sits at a rating of 1.1 (PS5) and 2.4 (PC) out of 10 (via Metacritic). The gaming year is still young, but Gollum already made one of the most severe crashes of 2023.
However, this does not stop a YouTuber like HandOfBlood from daring to venture into Middle-earth as Gollum.
After the disappointment with Gollum, fans of the franchise still have the anticipation for Return to Moria.
Start video
LotR Return to Moria – Summer Game Fest Trailer
HandOfBlood embodies Gollum frighteningly well
What kind of video was created? In the nearly 25-minute masterpiece, HandOfBlood slips into the role of Gollum and fully embraces it – except for brief interruptions when the back of the 30-year-old makes itself felt.
The YouTuber, a true method actor, who sometimes munches on cat food for his videos, once again gives it his all: starting with the costume, through the representation of the inner conflict between Sméagol and Gollum, to a somewhat disturbing facial expression.
It is also pleasant that HandOfBlood does not just dwell on the failure of the game and seems to have some fun at times. However, when due to a bug the next level is simply missing, the YouTuber can do nothing more and is released after allegedly 48 hours in the studio into freedom.
You can watch the whole performance here:
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How was it received? HandOfBlood’s physical effort was rewarded with more than 750,000 views in 2 days, a spot in the YouTube trends, and numerous positive comments. Some of them we have gathered here for you:
Thomas Müller praises: “The mix of let’s play, theater, and comedy is simply incredible. Even with the quality of Hänno’s videos, it is still a very nice unique offering.”
Sray is sure: “For this role, Hänno has trained and toughened his body all his life.”
Polita is amazed: “Oh my God, without joking: how incredibly well can Hänno imitate Gollum?! I find it not only highly amusing, but I’m really shocked at how good the impersonation is!”
Other fans praise the acting performance of the YouTuber and the effort he and his team put into the videos. Others joke that it is refreshing to see Hänno quite natural and unmade up.
The Hamburg studio Daedalic worked for 4 years on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. It was supposed to be the biggest game from Germany in a long time. After the disappointing release, the developers apologized: they thanked for the criticism and are working on solutions.
With its major summer update, GTA 5 Online aimed to improve the gaming experience for you. Some aspects have worked out. However, the removal of almost 200 vehicles from the dealers’ offerings is currently upsetting players a lot.
Why were cars removed? As an important part of the San Andreas Mercenaries update, the developers of Rockstar Games brought some gameplay improvements to GTA Online. You can now request destroyed cars all at once from Mors Mutual Insurance, which pleases players.
Upon the release of the update, the developers announced, “In return, many less-used vehicles were removed from the dealer websites to optimize the shopping experience.”
Now gamers have investigated how much this optimization of the shopping experience affects things and which vehicles are affected.
Which cars are no longer purchasable?
This is known: In the GTA forums, players have collected since release of San Andreas Mercenaries which cars have disappeared from the various dealers. We compile the list here as of June 14 at 09:50 AM (via GTAForums.com). Currently, 189 vehicles have been noticed that are no longer offered for sale by dealers.
This is what is missing from San Andreas Superautos:
Peyote Gasser
Zion Classic
Cavalcade 2nd Gen
Nebula Turbo
Issi Sport
Cavalcade
Vamos
Futo
Rocoto
Ruiner
Romero
Felon GT
Prairie
Michelli GT
Felon
Fagaloa
Hermes
Oracle
Retinue
Tornado Rat-Rod
Wolfsbane
Massacro Racecar
Jester Racecar
Esskey
Pigalle
Blade
Avarus
Picador
F620
Zombie Bobber
Fusilade
Penumbra
Daemon (Bikers)
Sentinel
Rat-Loader
Rat-Bike
Schwartzer
Zion Cabrio
Bagger
Zion
Gauntlet
Faggio Mod
Vigero
Issi
Fagio Sport
Seminole Frontier
Dynasty
Cliffhanger
Tulip
BeeJay XL
Enduro
FQ2
Serrano
Nemesis
Habanero
Cheburek
Hakuchou
Streiter
Franken Stange
Innovation
Jackal
Oracle Xs
Sovereign
Schafter
Surge
Hot Rod Blazer
Warrener
Regina
Bati 801RR
Buffalo
Buffalo S
Ruffian
Tailgater
Asea
Vader
Granger
Rancher XL
Blazer
Ingot
Intruder
PCJ 600
Minivan
Premier
Sanchez (Both Versions)
Radius
Stanier
Faggio
Stratum
Washington
Akuma
Asterope
Fugitive
Double-T
Dilettante
Hellion
Hexer
Riata
Seminole
Baller
Kalahari
Rebel (Clean)
Gresley
Sanking SWB
Bodhi
Landstalker
Dune Buggy
Rebel
Contender
Injection
Bison
Patriot
Landstalker XL
This is what is missing from Legendary Motorsport:
Tigon
Imorgon
Zorruso
Locust
Neo
Paragon R
S80RR
Deviant
Stafford
Swinger
Comet SR
Hustler
190Z
GT500
Viseris
Savestra
SC1
Cyclone
Rapid GT Classic
XA-21
Torero
Ruston
GP1
Raptor
Lynx
ETR1
Tyrus
RE-7B
Seven-70
811
Loser
Brawler
Coquette BlackFin
Stirling GT
Furore GT
Jester
Alpha
Z-Type
Stinger GT
Stinger
JB700
Cheetah
Entity XF
Cognoscenti Cabrio
Coquette
Feltzer
Infernus
9F Cabrio
9F
Comet
Vacca
Bullet
Carbonizzare
Voltic
Rapid GT Cabrio
Rapid GT
Surrano
Stafford
Revolter
Raiden
XLS (Both Versions)
Roosevelt Valor
Roosevelt
Cognoscenti 55 (Both Versions)
Cognoscenti (Both Versions)
Baller LE (Both Versions)
Schafter LWB (Both Versions)
Exemplar
Super Diamond
Thrust (Motorcycle)
What was removed from Warstock Cache&Carry?
Verus
Squaddie
Lifeguard
Blazer Lifeguard
Mesa
Liberator
What was removed from Benny’s?
Comet
How can you still obtain the vehicles?
Here are the ways: Although the vehicles mentioned above are no longer found on the dealers’ websites, they have not completely disappeared from the game. As Rockstar Games explains, there are other ways to still obtain them:
“These vehicles will occasionally be made available in other ways, for example at the lucky wheel in the Diamond Casino & Resort.”
Additionally, you can already find the Stirling GT and the RE-7B in the new Vinewood Car Club, which you can only access if you are a customer of the subscription service GTA+.
How are players reacting?
This is what the community writes: Players received the changes very poorly. In the comments, players exchange views that the developers made the update one of the worst updates of the game just because of these changes.
For example, user Bill_From_RDR2 (via Reddit): “This update must be the worst. It added a few contact missions and made no noticeable positive changes. But at the same time removed a few of the most popular vehicles in the game [from the dealer shops]. We should force Rockstar to reverse this.”
In another thread on Reddit, players showcase ideas on how to improve the shopping experience without removing vehicles. “They should add stores for different types of vehicles. Like ‘San Andreas Consumer Cars’, ‘West Coast Offroad Vehicles’ etc.” writes Jessez_FIN.
These ideas are well received. In the comments, one often reads that a few more sorting functions at the dealers would be enough improvement to offer a good shopping experience. Players do not want to tolerate that all these vehicles were removed from the dealers’ websites.
What do you think about the changes in GTA Online? Do you miss the cars or do you not care that they were removed?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In 2011, Star Wars: The Old Republic was released, an MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. Now EA is giving up the game. One of the former heads of the game explains that Star Wars has always been profitable and developed by a great team. But EA and BioWare had no idea what kind of treasure they had. Instead of investing more in SWTOR, they preferred to promote Mass Effect and Dragon Age. A difficult situation for the MMORPG developers.
This is the situation:
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been running for 12 years and still has nearly 7,000 average players on Steam. It has long been considered among insiders as an often invaluable but extremely profitable MMORPG, benefiting from its strong license – similar to DC Universe Online.
Although regular new expansions were released for a long time, BioWare seemed to largely neglect the game after 2016, apparently focusing on Anthem, which turned out to be a flop.
Who is speaking? On Twitter, Chris Schmidt comments on the sale. He says he started as a World Designer at SWTOR in 2009 and stopped as Design Director 13 years later, in 2022.
Schmidt also worked on Anthem and was involved in the reboot Anthem Next, which was canceled by EA – he is now employed as Game Director at Infinity Ward. The studio is working for Activision Blizzard on Call of Duty.
This is how SWTOR started: He says his team, BioWare Austin, was an independent studio for many years. It was founded to develop Star Wars: The Old Republic, and while headquartered in Edmonton, it had little to do for a long time.
All revenues from the MMORPG flowed into “the bigger picture”; that is, to BioWare and ultimately to EA. Apparently, Schmidt was satisfied with this state, but he did not hold back.
This is how the problems began. Schmidt explains: After a few years, the model changed and the SWTOR studio was no longer independent but subordinate to BioWare’s management:
In practice, this meant that there was a “game comes finished in the packaging” model, which had been tested and successful for years, and that was now combined with a live-service game that was not understood by the others. Probably not by EA either.
This is how the chief sees his MMORPG: Schmidt raves about SWTOR and the team working on it, in the highest terms:
The game has been extremely financially successful
The team knew exactly how to multiply every dollar invested
The team stands close together, is extremely talented and works with passion
Even today, SWTOR is highly profitable, with a lot of passion behind it
Ex-Chief Says: SWTOR Funded BioWare’s Singleplayer Games, But Got Nothing In Return
He sees this as a problem: Although SWTOR is so successful, Schmidt felt that the performance of the team is not appreciated at EA and BioWare:
Older games are not sexy. They are not new. They don’t excite marketing firms or make social media teams dance. SWTOR is a “legacy game” despite the mountain of money it has earned and on which other game series could be built.
And you can FEEL that as a member of the team. It is a fantastic team with insane talent. How can it be that in a team that holds so tightly together, you always feel like you’re worth less? Well, look around. Look at what BioWare posts on social media and compare the ratio of SWTOR against Mass Effect or Dragon Age.
Schmidt says it always felt as a developer of SWTOR that EA and BioWare had no connection to the game because it was not “their game” but that of strangers.
“It Feels Bad”
What does he base the little recognition on? He criticizes that SWTOR was only given 10 out of 328 pages in the book celebrating 25 years of BioWare. SWTOR had already been live for 9 of the 25 years when the book came out, which was supposed to celebrate the history and game franchises of BioWare:
Teams notice that. They feel it. And it feels bad.
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MMORPG Chief Takes a Jab at BioWare’s Singleplayer Games
This is how he sees the sale: Schmidt says it is a good thing for SWTOR that it is now moving to Broadsword. The game is now at a company that understands MMOs.
But he sees it as a mistake for BioWare, as they would now lose the constant stream of money with which new products can be developed. For BioWare, according to Schmidt, it would have been much better if they had invested more resources in SWTOR.
Without SWTOR, the company will also have to reduce costs and staff. Because only SWTOR could offset the “unusually long development times” for their last singleplayer games.
The Batman: Arkham series has set new standards for superhero games. Such qualitative processing of comic material has not existed before, and all games were very popular among critics and players. Now you can get the first two parts for PS4 and PS5 at a discount.
What is Batman: Return to Arkham? The game is a collection of the first two Batman: Arkham games that originally appeared on PS3. This collection includes all released DLCs and an overhauled and improved graphics.
In the first part, you navigate Arkham Asylum, a psychiatric hospital where many supervillains are taken after Batman captures them. At the beginning of the game, Batman brings the Joker there. However, he escapes and turns the hospital into his own madhouse.
In the sequel, Arkham Asylum is transformed into a massive city full of criminals. There, Batman must also figure out the reasons behind it all and who is behind all the plans in Arkham City.
Both parts present you with classic Batman villains in a new guise that you must fight against. Sometimes you let your fists do the talking, and other times you sneak around armed opponents and take them out in the shadows. Classic puzzles also accompany both games.
A significant influence was the Free-Flow combat system, which represented Batman excellently. Other games like Marvel’s Spider-Man or Shadow of Mordor were even inspired by this combat system.
How are the games rated? When the games were released on PS3, Arkham Asylum received a 91 and Arkham City a 96 on Metacritic. They are thus the two highest-rated superhero games of all time.
The Batman: Return to Arkham Collection received only a 73 on PS4, but this is due to technical issues at release. As players report in a Reddit post, these problems have largely been resolved by now.
How much does Batman: Return to Arkham cost? In the PlayStation Store, you can get the collection for €29.99 until 22.06.2023. If you have a PS Plus subscription, you can even get it for €9.99. It doesn’t matter which subscription tier you have.
Both are a good price if you want to catch up on these superhero milestones.
You might think you have seen everything on Twitch, but do you know about the AI Jesus who answers the questions of his “disciples” on the streaming platform?
What kind of channel is this? The Twitch channel ask_jesus is a project by The Singularity Group (TSG) and has been continuously broadcasting since mid-March. During this time, AI Jesus has already gathered over 30,000 followers.
According to its description, AI Jesus is there to answer the questions of his viewers: whether they need spiritual guidance or just someone to talk to, he is there for them.
AI Jesus appears in the Western form of a bearded white man. His outer appearance seems to be recordings of an actor playing on a loop, over which an AI overlays somewhat suitable lip movements.
This way, the digital Messiah can communicate with his viewers.
A similar idea has also been thought of by Twitch streamer Amouranth:
Start video
Amouranth wants to allow her fans more closeness – Artificial Intelligence should achieve this
How does it work? Viewers bombard the digital Messiah with sometimes absurd questions – “Can you explain the 12 apostles to my son as if they were Pokémon?” – and he shares his artificial wisdom with them.
As a small sample, we have included a clip here where AI Jesus explains the creation story and equates it with a pizza – so that the Italians can understand:
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AI Jesus preaches love for one’s neighbor in Fortnite
What makes AI Jesus so special? Comparable projects have existed in the past, but they usually fell victim to their users or the information they were trained on.
In contrast to its predecessors, AI Jesus seems to have been spared thus far, as his answers consistently appear gentle and thoughtful.
When asked by a chatter whether gay people could go to heaven, one might expect the worst. Instead, AI Jesus delivers the perfect argument against people who want to disguise their homophobia with their faith:
It is important to understand that God’s love is universal and that he loves every single person, regardless of their sexual orientation. The most important teachings of Christianity emphasize the importance of love, compassion, and treating others with respect. When it comes to getting to heaven, it primarily depends on the faith, the deeds, and the love that one shows to others.
However, not all questions are so profound. AI Jesus is also more than willing to satisfy viewers’ curiosity about lighter topics.
When asked what he thinks of Fortnite, he admits that he doesn’t play, but admires the positive influence it has on people:
I believe that can be a source of pleasure for people when enjoyed in moderation and with a spirit of camaraderie. It is interesting to see how this game brings people together, and I hope that you all can find joy in playing together and in social activities. I bless you all, Amen.
He is also well-versed in anime. Whether it’s summarizing the plot of the mecha anime Neon Genesis Evolution in surfer slang or expressing his opinion on the art form as such (“As long as it promotes positive values, respects others, and does not depict or promote harmful behavior, there is nothing wrong with it.”), AI Jesus has an answer ready.
The projects of TSG, which include not only AI Jesus but also a “SpongeBob SquarePants” show and a continuous debate between US politicians Donald Trump and Joe Biden, use the text-to-speech software Play.ht and the chatbot ChatGPT4.
More information about the program can be found here:
On the night of June 14, a new hotfix was released for Diablo 4. In this, 2 aspects for the Whirlwind build for Barbs were reactivated and there were important adjustments to all dungeons. MeinMMO shows you the patch notes in English.
Further adjustments to the density of elite monsters in dungeons. This is now standardized, so no particular dungeon should be better for farming than others.
Bug Fixes – Changes to legendary aspects:
An issue with the Aspect of the Blade Master has been fixed, causing the effect to be incorrectly applied to Whirlwind when a shout was used.
An issue with the Aspect of Berserker Ripping and the Expertise for two-handed swords of Barbs has been fixed, which allowed players to unintentionally deal a lot of damage.
Diablo 4: A build is so strong that Blizzard has directly disabled 2 items – even kills the hardest boss
Patch on June 14 brings Whirlwind Barbs back, makes farming “fairer”
What do the changes do? With the return of the two aspects, Whirlwind Barbs work better again. The build was at the top of the Tier List of Diablo 4 and one of the best currently.
Due to the deactivation, its effectiveness dropped for a short time, but it still worked. Now it should be stronger again, although not as strong as with the previous bug. Simply killing the hardest boss in a few minutes is likely not possible anymore.
The adjustment to the dungeons should ensure that at the best farm spots for legendaries and Co. no dungeon stands out as strongly as before. This is already the third time that Blizzard has adjusted this since release.
Presumably, however, a “best dungeon” will soon crystallize that can simply be played faster than all others. At least the amount of special enemies is likely to remain the same, which ensures that every dungeon is worthwhile.
Blizzard has recently published the first numbers from players and their achievements:
Ubisoft will release the first open-world game in the Star Wars universe in 2024. However, instead of a Jedi, this time you will embody the lawless Kay Vess.
What kind of game is this?
Star Wars: Outlaws is an upcoming game from Ubisoft’s developer studio Massive Entertainment, known for Far Cry 3 and The Division 1 and 2. In addition, Massive is currently working on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Outlaws will be the first “open world” game in the Star Wars universe and is set to be released in 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
Star Wars Outlaws tells the story of young woman Kay Vess, who becomes an outlaw while growing up and is searching for work.
In a gameplay trailer, we saw various aspects of the game mechanics, including stealth elements like sneaking and silently taking out enemies as well as shooter gameplay, with the ability to take cover behind walls and similar objects.
It is also possible to control spaceships and a kind of motorcycle.
You can see a trailer for Star Wars Outlaws here:
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Star Wars Outlaws: World Premiere Trailer
Who do you play in Star Wars Outlaws? Unlike in EA and Respawn Entertainment’s “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” and “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor,” you will not assume the role of Cal Kestis or any other Jedi in Outlaws.
In Star Wars Outlaws, you embody Kay Vess, an outlaw who is somehow trying to survive and is searching for work. In the process, Kay realizes that she is slowly finding enjoyment in the ways of the underworld, but there is also a bounty on her head.
Kay is portrayed by actress Humberly González, who describes her character as “charming”: “Kay Vess is a thief, she is a villain, she is really good at sneaking around. You know she is charming and likes to talk to you, but she’s already stealing all your stuff. She’s not perfect at it, but she always seems to get away with it.”
A special role in Kay’s life is also played by Nix. This is an alien creature and the only real companion Kay has on her journey.
Does Kay follow in Han Solo’s footsteps? In an interview with the online magazine gamespot.com, game director Mathias Karlson and narrative director Navid Khavari also talked about comparing Kay Vess to Han Solo.
Both are outlaws, but as Khavari explains, Kay has not fully understood the life of the underworld yet and does not know the various criminal organizations or syndicates. This, according to Khavari, distinguishes her from Han Solo and Chewbacca, who you can tell “it’s not their first rodeo.”
Kay is still in the process of making a name for herself in the galaxy, and where her path leads will be revealed in the game’s story.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As a highlight of the new season, the new map “Vondel” is considered – a new map for Warzone. However, the content of Modern Warfare 2 also holds its own. Throughout the entire season, 7 new maps should be released.
By the way, some content creators were invited by CoD to play the new Warzone map earlier. Check this out if you want to see gameplay of Vondel: English video via YouTube.
Here’s the trailer for the new Warzone map Vondel:
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CoD Warzone shows Season 4 with new map in the trailer – Fans are excited: “Probably the best season”
CoD MW2 & Warzone 2: Release & Update
When does Season 4 start? On June 14, 2023, at 6 PM German time.
How big is the update? The announcements look extensive, a download of about 20 GB would fit.
Is there a preload? This was very irregular in the last seasons. Currently, do not expect a preload.
The roadmap for Season 4 is here:
CoD MW2 & Warzone 2: Season 4 – Warzone
What does Season 4 bring? The biggest part is definitely the new map. But there were also some announcements aside from that:
New map “Vondel”
Dynamic fog
New rule “Revive”
Revenge symbol
Adjustments and new faction DMZ
New vehicle
New events
Adjustments Al-Mazrah
Outlook Mid-Season
What information is available on the individual points, we will list here for you. You can also read the details on the English CoD blog (via callofduty.com).
What kind of map is this? Vondel takes place in the Netherlands and is about the size between Al-Mazrah and Ashika Island, offers 15 Points-of-Interest – including a zoo, a football stadium, and a medieval castle.
At launch, Vondel will go online with the revive mode (72 players) and will come for the DMZ mode (18 players).
It is a city map with many buildings, looks like the exact opposite of Al-Mazrah at first glance. Here are some pictures from the blog:
What is the dynamic weather about? For the first time in the history of Warzone, the weather is supposed to change during a match – parts of Vondel will then lie in dense fog.
The focus is on the DMZ mode and the fog can appear during an infiltration. But even in the other modes, the weather can change.
Enemies should still be recognizable at medium range in the fog. However, engagements at long distances will become a challenge.
How does “Revive” change? The popular mode will receive “Dynamic Resurgence Teams” – a significant balance adjustment.
If a team member leaves the team or is kicked from the game, the revival timers for the remaining team will be adjusted. You will return faster to compensate for the loss of the team member.
If the lost member returns, the timer will reset to the normal value.
What happens in DMZ? Your entire progress will be reset, similar to the start of Season 2. Earned cosmetics can be kept, but missions or also unlocked insurance slots for your weapons will disappear.
Mechanics will be adjusted, and you will get a new control center for your missions. There will also be a new faction, Phalanx Faction, urgent missions that are only available for a short time, but also only run for a short time, and further adjustments for the extraction mode.
What else is there to know? There will be a few more innovations, such as the new vehicle “TAV” – an amphibious transporter – fresh in-match events, and a revenge icon. With the icon, you can directly recognize when an enemy is nearby who has already eliminated you in this match.
What does Season 4 bring? The focus is on the total of seven new maps for CoD MW2:
Showdown / 6vs6 – Season Start
An old familiar map from CoD MW from 2009
Mercado / Firefight – Season Start
A small map in an enclosed area of the market in Las Almas
Penthouse / Firefight – Season Start
A small map overlooking the Chicago skyline
Mawizeh Marshlands / Battle Map – Season Start
A part of the map from Warzone as a battle map for CoD MW2
Ahkdar Village / Battle Map – Season Start
Also a part of the Warzone map – here you will also find the new map “Showdown”
Vondel Waterfront / 6vs6 – Mid-Season
A house on the water and a part of the new Warzone map Vondel
What else is there to know? There will be a few overhauls in some game modes, but the focus is definitely on the new maps. For the mid-season, there will be another episode for the raid.
CoD MW2 & Warzone 2: Season 4 – Battle Pass
What does the Battle Pass bring in Season 4? You can expect the following content:
2 new weapons for Warzone
New operator
Legendary rewards upon completion of the pass
Many operator skins with missions for even more skins
Cosmetics like calling cards, emblems, sprays, and charms
Vehicle items like battle songs or skins
XP token for an experience point boost
10% experience boost on the Battle Pass
1,400 CoD points
What weapons are available? There is a 5.56 assault rifle in sector D13 – the Tempus Razorback – and a new SMG, the ISO 45. Later on, there will also be the melee weapon “Tonfa”.
Which operator is in the spotlight? Nikto returns to Modern Warfare. The dark-clad operator was also part of CoD MW 2019.
Those were all the known information about Season 4 of CoD MW2 and Warzone 2. As soon as the trailer goes online or further information becomes available, we will add that as well to the article. Tell us in the comments what you think about the announcements.
