In Destiny 2 , a loot bug has emerged this Friday in the PvP activity “Trials of Osiris” that deprives the best PvP players of their rewards. There is a method to find out if you will be affected by the bug.
This is the loot bug: Players simply do not receive rewards in the Trials of Osiris. It is intended that players receive a reward after 3, 5, and 7 victories in the elite PvP activity, but those affected by the bug go empty-handed.
Other players also experienced this on Friday evening in Destiny 2, but not all of them.
How to check if you have been affected by the loot curse
What you need to know: According to initial information on Reddit, you can see right at the start of the Trials whether you will be affected by the bug or not. If the passage cannot be reset, you are affected by the loot bug and should not play the Trials of Osiris.
On Twitter, it is added that you should carefully look at the map: If there are no “challenge nodes” for the milestones at 3, 5, and 7 victories, you should abort. One Twitter user says his character, with whom he played flawlessly in week 1, is now suffering from this bug.
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This is what Bungie says: Community Manager Cozmo said yesterday that they are investigating the matter.
This is the bigger context: The mood in Destiny 2 is currently low with Season 10. The Trials had been missing from the game for a long time because Bungie was not satisfied with them. Now Bungie is facing significant criticism for bringing the Trials back so late and there are still complaints.
It could also simply be that the Trials have not been reset correctly for some players. We are waiting for a report from Bungie on what is currently going wrong in the Trials; until then, Trials participants should view their passage with skepticism. The Bungie employees are currently working from home due to the corona crisis.
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Update 21.3. 16:00: Bungie has now issued a statement on Twitter about how the bug occurred. It seems that Bungie accidentally delayed the reset of the Trials of Osiris in Destiny 2 with the hotfix: From Friday evening to Saturday night.
Apparently, players have to wait until the night from Saturday to Sunday, at 1:00 AM, for the reset of the Trials of Osiris and new rewards to be earned.
Players who completed the Trials last week have to wait until 1 AM to participate in the Trials and earn loot.
In a later patch, Bungie plans to move the reset back to Friday.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For a short time, Newell seemed to have concerns about image damage, particularly due to the revenue share Steam gets when selling a game – Epic Games takes significantly less. However, he thinks competition is beneficial in the long term.
What Newell really fears: At another point in the interview, Newell then explains what truly worries him. It is not competition but the simple absence of competition by preventing it:
We don’t freak out as much about competition, but when people try to suppress competition. […] If you ask us what is scarier, it’s that people fall in love with Apple’s model, which wants to control everything, and faceless bureaucrats who prevent a product from entering the market when they don’t want it to […].
In summary, Gabe Newell seems to have no issue with competition as long as there is a fair competitive struggle, as it ensures continuous self-improvement.
Do you agree with the statements of the Steam co-founder? Or do you see the disadvantages of more stores and offers?
What does the Steam boss think of the Epic Store? He revealed this in an interview – and also what drives his team crazy.
For many years, Steam was the undisputed king of game providers for PC. In most cases, anyone who wanted to play a game online used Steam for that. But a while ago, someone tried to chip away at this throne – Epic Games, the creators behind Fortnite, set up their own store and aggressively attracted users at launch with lower prices and better financial conditions for publishers and developers.
Who is speaking? Gabe Newell (“GabeN”) is one of the co-founders of Steam (Valve) and is regarded by many as the “Messiah of PC gaming”. Every year during the big Steam sales, there are a lot of memes surrounding him. Valve’s games have mostly been huge hits, such as the “Half Life” series, but also Dota and CS: GO – only Artifact was a flop and is set to be revised.
A famous meme about Gabe Newell: The king grants discounts.
In an interview with EDGE magazine, Newell spoke about the Epic Games Store and the resulting competition.
This is Newell’s opinion on the Epic Store: In the interview, Newell spoke about what he thinks of the Epic Games Store. He said:
Competition in gaming platforms is fantastic for everyone. It keeps us decent, it keeps everyone else decent. But in the short term, it’s pretty ugly. It’s like: “Argh, they are screaming, they make us look bad” – but in the long run, everyone benefits from the discipline and the care that you have to have in a company when you have other people challenging you.
For a short time, Newell seemed to have concerns about image damage, particularly due to the revenue share Steam gets when selling a game – Epic Games takes significantly less. However, he thinks competition is beneficial in the long term.
What Newell really fears: At another point in the interview, Newell then explains what truly worries him. It is not competition but the simple absence of competition by preventing it:
We don’t freak out as much about competition, but when people try to suppress competition. […] If you ask us what is scarier, it’s that people fall in love with Apple’s model, which wants to control everything, and faceless bureaucrats who prevent a product from entering the market when they don’t want it to […].
In summary, Gabe Newell seems to have no issue with competition as long as there is a fair competitive struggle, as it ensures continuous self-improvement.
Do you agree with the statements of the Steam co-founder? Or do you see the disadvantages of more stores and offers?
A player has done something special with their broken PS4 controller instead of throwing it away. Users are discussing the outcome and honoring the beloved controller on Reddit.
Who is the PS4 player? On Reddit, the user zlotz shared that their favorite controller broke. But instead of throwing it away, they came up with something special:
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Why the controller was so important to them: The controller accompanied the player for a long time. They wrote about their PS4 controller: “This controller has fought so many battles, killed so many ‘Call of Duty Zombies’, slain hundreds of Skyrim dragons, scored dozens of goals in Rocket League, and mastered Crash Bandicoot.”
Why isn’t the controller working anymore? They themselves don’t know what could be wrong. They have tried both replacing the battery and the charging port, but nothing worked.
A player creates a memorial for the PS4 controller
What exactly did they do? After the controller gave up the ghost, zlotz decided on a special approach to keep their controller in good memory:
First, zlotz completely disassembled their old PS4 controller.
Then, they bought a shadow box. This is a particularly deep picture frame that is also suitable for items that are not as flat as paper.
Next, they cut white paper to the size of the picture frame. This prevents them from attaching parts outside the frame.
On this white paper, they then used glue to attach the individual parts of the controller.
How elaborate was the project? The user zlotz explained that it took about two hours, which was due to their good planning of the project.
This was not their first project of this kind: In another Reddit post, they showed their old, disassembled iPhone. And with this experience, disassembling the controller was much easier. The more complicated part is the overall layout. They wrote:
It’s not that difficult; it’s more about visualization, about where you place each part so that everything looks nicely balanced. So, not too much “white space” around it.
The post received over eleven thousand upvotes and more than 400 comments on Reddit:
Mick9er says: “If I did that with every controller I broke while playing FIFA, I would have a whole graveyard hanging on the wall.”
Hellraiser29 commented on the post: “That looks really sick. A great way to remember this generation.”
User Kenzer161 does not understand the excitement. They wrote: “What’s so special about it? Fans will downvote me, but the PS4 controllers are the least reliable ones I’ve ever used. I needed 5 of them in 18 months, and every one ended up with a broken left joystick.”
What does Sony plan for the PS5 controller? While the player honors their old PS4 controller, others are eagerly awaiting the Dualshock 5 for the PS5:
Gravel in Minecraft is really sneaky. A player narrowly avoids a death trap that turns out to be a cool “natural spectacle.”
In
Minecraft, there are almost as many opportunities to express creativity as there are nasty ways to spontaneously die in all parts of the game world. Especially falling blocks like gravel and sand can quickly become a death trap for careless players.
On Reddit, player Ketchus69 shows a small exploration of an area that could have ended tragically. He is currently climbing a mountain and trying to create a “staircase” into the mountain to reach the top. However, he is also mining some gravel blocks – triggering a massive chain reaction. Gravel falls hundreds of blocks deep, revealing a gigantic rock crevice. With a bold jump, Ketchus69 narrowly escapes the fall into certain death.
What is so nasty about gravel? Gravel (Gravel) and also sand are among the few blocks in Minecraft that are affected by gravity. This means that if they do not have other blocks beneath them, they will fall into the depths. However, this does not apply when generating a world. Thus, it is possible for Minecraft to generate a world where gravel is essentially “floating in the air” and conceals a huge tunnel or rock crevice beneath it.
However, once one of the freely hanging gravel blocks is mined, a chain reaction is set in motion. Minecraft then checks the gravity of all surrounding blocks, which consequently begin to fall. This triggers the chain reaction shown above, where hundreds or even thousands of gravel blocks tumble down.
Gravel enables several ways to die: There are multiple ways to die from gravel. On one hand, falling damage from heights can mean death, but a second way to die is also possible. If you fall into gravel, you can also be “buried” under the gravel and suffocate to death in no time.
Gravel seems so inconspicuous – but it can lead to disaster!
The community is excited: The clip is quite well received in the community for several reasons and has already garnered over 65,000 upvotes in less than 24 hours. This is mainly due to the combination of the two incidents. On one hand, players are impressed by how quickly they reacted to the falling gravel blocks and saved their lives. But the sheer size of this gravel area, which is even naturally placed above a gorge, leaves people on Reddit impressed.
For many players, the air has gone out of World of Warcraft recently. But for a few days now, Cortyn from MeinMMO has been having a lot of fun again – thanks to a small change.
If you know me a little, you know that I have remained relatively faithful to World of Warcraft. Not only have I been writing about World of Warcraft for MeinMMO for almost 7 years, but I have also been playing it intensively for over 14 years. While there have been months where I took a break, I’ve never really escaped Blizzard’s Azeroth. Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth really put me to the test as a long-time fan. But a small hotfix change has ensured that I now spend many hours a day diving back into Azeroth.
Patch 8.3 had little to offer and hardly any incentives
I won’t hide it: I am still disappointed with Patch 8.3 as a whole. There are too many aspects that annoy me and where I had simply hoped for more. The most important negative aspects for me are:
Slow conclusion of the story around N’Zoth
No really new areas
Disappointing rare mobs without special drops
I enjoy collecting things – whether pets, toys, or mounts, and the current patch offers very little of that. The few pets are caught quickly, and the toys are also nothing that I can really work towards.
Patch 8.3 had little to offer and Blizzard also pushed back.
Whenever the current content in WoW has bored me or was not interesting enough, I switched to twinks. After a long time playing as a priest, the demon hunter was a cool change, and now seeing the dungeons and raids from the perspective of a fire mage is also appealing.
But WoW has not allowed that in recent months. Because the essences for the Heart of Azeroth were difficult to farm for twinks. The reputation grind had to be repeated in full on every character. As cool as I found Nazjatar, it would not cross my mind to do all the dailies every day for a month – especially, when everything is overcrowded with multiboxers.
The end result was that I actually only played properly for a few hours on two days a week to go on adventures with my “Mythic+” group.
WoW developers have finally listened
But the developers of WoW have listened, even though it took a very long time. Since last Wednesday, twinks can now obtain essences significantly faster that a main character already has. This is done through a new currency (Echoes of Ny’alotha), which can be exchanged directly for the desired essence – without RNG elements and without much extra effort. How exactly to obtain the Echoes of Ny’alotha, we have explained here.
Just as the community predicted for weeks, this has led to exactly the change I wanted to see: I am having fun again with World of Warcraft and have a strong desire to play twinks.
Along with my demon hunter and mage, a rogue and a warrior have now joined the ranks. After just a few hours of gameplay, I already have two of the necessary essences, and the flow of the game is much more enjoyable. You can clearly feel the impact of the right essences on your first visit to a Disturbing Vision of N’Zoth, not to mention in mythic dungeons or even in the LFR version of Ny’alotha.
I even feel like playing completely new characters and perhaps finally leveling a mechagnome or a nightborne to max level. Just because I know that I won’t have to face the “essences wall” in endgame.
Finally excited about twinks – essences make it possible.
In summary, WoW managed to “hook” me again with this small change. Thanks to the Echoes of Ny’alotha and the associated essences, everything I am currently doing with my twinks feels relevant in some way. Everything gives me meaningful progress. This will continue to be the case for another 3-4 weeks until I have unlocked the perfect essences with all characters.
Whether the enjoyment will last over this period remains to be seen, as the upcoming content drought until the release of Shadowlands will be long and, due to the Corona situation, probably even longer than expected. But even then, I would at least have a number of decent alternative characters if I thirst for a new role. Maybe I’ll try one of the 5 hardest achievements in WoW.
And if in doubt, I’ll just log on to my demon hunter, because you can also have fun without thinking.
Valve’s CEO, Gabe Newell, admitted that their game “Artifact” was a major flop. However, they want to revive the online strategy game. The overhaul is so extensive that internally they are referring to it as “Artifact 2.” Will it finally become the long-awaited Steam hit?
What’s the deal with Artifact? Normally, all multiplayer games from Valve are major hits on their platform Steam: Dota 2; CS:GO, even the old Team Fortress 2 have been top performers on the giant PC platform for years.
The online collectible card game Artifact was released in November 2018 and there were indications that it would be the next mega-seller. The game started with massive interest on Steam. It was under the motto: “Valve is finally making games again!” Because Artifact (2018) was Valve’s first game since Dota 2 (2013).
The highly anticipated “new game from Valve” turned out to be a flop that hardly anyone wanted to play after a short time.
The digital card game was released in November 2018 and was virtually dead by February 2019.
In March 2019, Valve stated, that they want to “address the fundamental issues of the game,” but there has not been much information about it in the past year.
A well-known meme about Gabe Newell: The king grants discounts.
Valve plans reboot for Artifact
What Valve says now: Valve’s CEO, Gabe Newell, is somewhat of a “Jesus of PC gaming.” He stated in an interview with EDGE magazine that they have learned a lot from the release of Artifact on Steam and will apply these lessons in a reboot.
They were disappointed with how Artifact performed. In another interview with IGN, it was mentioned that Artifact was a huge disappointment.
At Valve, they thought they had a strong product but then achieved poor results. Now they want to see if they learned the right lessons from the failure.
Newell states that they have a major reboot planned for Artifact to justify its existence to customers and to the market. The reboot has become so extensive that they are internally referring to it as “Artifact 2.”
However, there are no further details yet on how Valve will revise the game.
Ultimately, Artifact demonstrated a typical problem of online games: If the mood at release is poor, many players won’t even start the game, and others who briefly try it are quickly gone. This creates no player attachment. There is a lack of a healthy base of core players, which leads to a downward spiral that kills the game early.
Many online games on Steam face this issue, but it seems that Valve now wants to change the fact that they have such a flop in gaming history.
Raid bosses are considered a major challenge in MMOs, especially when they are freshly released. However, over time players learn all the mechanics and defeat the bosses with ease. But that could soon change.
What is Microsoft working on? In a livestream from Microsoft, software engineer James Trott talked about artificial intelligence in video games. Specifically, it was about teaching the AI to dynamically and in real-time respond to players.
This could lead to bosses that read player behavior and thus autonomously change their mechanics and patterns. A classic meta where teams play with the same setup could be prevented.
However, after a while, the challenge diminishes. Bosses reach “farm status” and are taken down easily. Dynamic bosses, on the other hand, could remain exciting in the long run, which could bring a lot of fun and replay value.
Trott also mentions that it is challenging not to accidentally make the bosses too difficult.
What does the developer say exactly? Trott describes in the livestream what Microsoft has been working on and how it could influence raid bosses in the future:
Last year we worked on a project with Microsoft technology to develop an MMO-like system for bosses that learns player behavior in raids.
When the raid battles are running and players find a dominant strategy, the bosses adapt almost in real-time [and] recognize the strategies that players use.
These changes apparently even lead to entirely new mechanics that the developers had not originally intended for the boss.
We experienced a lot of interesting things with genetic algorithms, where the content developed into something new based on a few basic principles that the developers might never have envisioned.
Where are the problems? Implementing dynamic bosses also brings obstacles. One problem is overly strong raid bosses that players can simply never defeat.
For this problem, the developers still need to find solutions, as Trott explains:
The challenge for developers now lies in how to hold back machine learning and simulation given the amount of computing power in the cloud so that NPCs and monsters are not perfect.
Because with enough training and computing power, they will defeat the players every time.
Qadim, a raid boss from Guild Wars 2
What does this mean for the future? Currently, the systems still seem not advanced enough to implement such raid bosses in MMOs. However, this could be possible in the future.
In almost every PvE content, a meta eventually develops, meaning a group setup with specific skills to defeat a boss effortlessly.
This kind of meta could be dismantled in the future. As the machine becomes more dynamic, players will also need to adjust their behavior. That sounds extremely exciting.
The shooter DOOM Eternal was released on Steam this weekend. It already surpasses the player numbers of its predecessor from 2016.
What is being reported: DOOM Eternal launched on Friday, March 20, on Steam. On release day, the shooter was incredibly popular. Over 100,000 people were simultaneously playing that day.
This makes the shooter significantly more successful than the “old” DOOM, which launched in May 2016.
DOOM Eternal 3 times more successful than its predecessor
Here are the numbers: On SteamDB , you can see the initial numbers for DOOM Eternal. At peak times, 104,891 people were playing the new shooter simultaneously. On Twitch, around 142,000 viewers were watching.
Comparable numbers can also be found from DOOM and its release in 2016. There, at peak times, 31,623 players were online on Steam. Since the release, the shooter has never reached a higher player count.
Another reason is certainly the corona crisis. People are being called worldwide to stay at home and avoid social contacts. This lures many gamers to the consoles, and a new title is a welcome distraction.
DOOM Eternal also comes at the right time. Currently, there are few strong releases, and DOOM generally has a strong fanbase due to its predecessor history. Additionally, it is the first blockbuster shooter of 2020 and is likely to have sparked interest among fans of the genre.
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In our colleague’s video from GameStar, the strengths and weaknesses of the gameplay are well explained. You can find out if DOOM Eternal is something for you.
How is the game received? Looking at the reviews on Steam, you might suspect that the shooter will stay relevant for a long time. Out of about 10,500 reviews, a total of 9300 (as of March 21, 12:00 PM) are positive. The 88% results in an “Very Positive” rating on Steam.
The players write:
Spectah85: “Really great shooter! Level design is fantastic. Gunplay is on point. Absolute recommendation to buy.”
qmass: “DOOM 2016 was fun, but I never got lost in the battles as much as I did now in DOOM Eternal.”
Are there also negative voices? Some fans of DOOM 2016 express disappointment on Steam. This can be seen in the about 1300 negative reviews. What defined DOOM in their eyes was somewhat lost in Eternal. Often the Glory Kills are mentioned, which are rather imposed, as they provide strong rewards.
The animations of the Glory Kills are often the same and bore many players. In DOOM 2016, you could skip these kills, as the rewards were not so essential.
The special research regarding Genesect has sparked many discussions in Pokémon GO. It was said that it could be completed from home, but now you have to go outside for the “Modular Research.”
This was promised: Niantic wrote on Twitter that they have equipped the paid special research with tasks that can be solved alone and without social contact. To YouTuber ZoëTwoDots, Niantic then promised that you wouldn’t even have to go outside.
This received much approval from trainers. After all, there are curfews in many countries due to the coronavirus. So many trainers thought they could pay 8.99€ and take part in the event from home without any stress.
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The YouTuber writes that their information has been confirmed by Niantic and that you don’t have to spin a PokéStop
Players angry: For special research, you have to go outside
This quest is causing discussions: At level 2 of 5, Pokémon GO requires you to send 3 gifts to friends. This doesn’t sound too complicated, but gifts are only available at PokéStops, and if you don’t live near one, you have to go outside.
You can spin 3 PokéStops quickly on the way to work or while shopping, but especially the fact that Niantic lied to the players here has caused a lot of criticism.
If you don’t have any gifts, you have to go outside because of Genesect
There are also problems here: At every stage of the quest, you have to catch 25 Pokémon of a specific type. That’s a total of 125 monsters. For many trainers, that’s simply too much to catch casually from home.
Anyone who has been home for several days probably has hardly any balls left and will then have to forcibly buy some in the shop.
Even with the free and improved incense, you can only attract the right Pokémon within an hour with a lot of luck. So you have to light incense for at least 5 hours to catch the required Pokémon. For many trainers, that’s simply too much time.
This is what the trainers say: On Reddit, there are numerous threads on this topic. CheetahSynth writes: “Damn, I’ve already sent all my gifts. I guess I have to go out and spin a few PokéStops.”
An additional User is even a bit more direct: “This is a shame. Niantic has confirmed that it can be played from home and I bet many players in quarantine have already sent all their gifts and can’t get new ones without going outside.
Do you have to go outside now? If someone is indeed under quarantine, they should, of course, not go outside. Even after the event ends, the special research with Genesect will remain.
If the situation around the coronavirus normalizes, then you can only complete the quests then. So you are not forced to get Genesect in the next few days.
Keep in mind that there is currently a risk of infecting yourself and others with the coronavirus. The Federal Center for Health Education recommends staying at home as often as possible, keeping your distance from others, and avoiding gatherings. Niantic has taken various measures so that you can play Pokémon GO from home .
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Wow! In Fallout 76 players are suddenly hoarding massive amounts of toilet paper and selling it at extremely high prices. What is going on?
What is happening right now in Fallout 76? As a sort of reflection of real society, some players are now collecting toilet paper in large quantities and offering it to other players at very high prices.
A roll of toilet paper is selling in the game for 500 to 25,000 caps.
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Why are players doing this? Basically, it’s role-playing. No one in post-apocalyptic Appalachia actually needs toilet paper for the restroom. Not even the NPCs that will soon be added with the Wastelanders update. What players are doing right now represents a sort of mirror of society.
Images of shopping carts loaded with packs of toilet paper are currently spreading on social media, and players of Fallout 76 are using this to make fun of the situation.
Due to the corona crisis, some people are currently buying large quantities of toilet paper, in addition to canned goods, pasta, and flour.
What is hoarding and why is it discouraged? Especially in crises, some people stock up on essential products in large quantities. They want to be prepared in case the crisis lasts longer and products in supermarkets are no longer available. They play it safe to be able to last at home for a while.
Politicians advise against hoarding and appeal to people’s common sense. They explain that the supply of essentials is secured and that hoarding food or toilet paper is unnecessary. This only creates unrest and panic. Moreover, important products become unavailable for those who want to shop normally. Everyone should shop as usual, then there will be enough for all.
Effects on the economic system are already showing
Does this have any effect? What started as fun with hoarding toilet paper is already affecting the game’s economy.
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Toilet paper is considered trash in Fallout 76. However, trash also has value, as it serves as a resource for crafting. This includes toilet paper. If players hoard every roll they can find, it affects the game, and items that require toilet paper can no longer be crafted. Therefore, players must now buy the resource from those who own it.
These players demand extremely high prices for it, up to 25,000 caps. And this is affecting the game’s economic system.
Many were hoping for a release date, specs, or the look of the PlayStation 5 stream in vain. During the presentation of the PS5, there were many technical details. We present you the 6 most important findings and explain what lies behind them.
In brief:
The new hardware specs of the PS5
The backward compatibility of the PS5 with the PS4
Realism through ray tracing
What is 3D audio?
PS5 update policy and loading times
Technology that is supposed to make the PS5 faster
Which stream are we talking about? On March 18, 2020, Sony had made up its presentation in a stream that was actually intended for the Game Developer Conference (GDC).
Many found the stream quite boring, as it was very technical. It was aimed primarily at developers and a technical audience, not at the mainstream. The viewers were expecting completely different things, but PS5 Lead Architect Mark Cerny only offered “technical details and subtleties.” Many also hoped that Sony would finally reveal the official design of the PS5 and still hope that the PS5 will at least look as cool as this fan art.
Can I still watch the stream? In the following, we would like to present the 6 most important facts of the stream in more detail and what exactly lies behind them. The entire video can still be viewed on YouTube:
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If you are interested in a stronger comparison between the PS5 and Xbox Series X, take a look at our colleagues from GameStar, who compared the PS5 and Xbox Series (via GameStar).
The PS5 features an eight-core Zen 2 processor from AMD with a clock speed of 3.5 GHz. The graphics unit (GPU) is supposed to provide 10.28 teraflops of performance. In comparison: The Xbox Series X is said to provide 12 teraflops, while the PS4 Pro achieves 4.2.
That’s why teraflops are not that important: He explained that teraflops alone do not determine the console’s performance:
The PS5 does not have a special console processor installed, but a PC CPU
AMD’s Smartshift technology is supposed to ensure that the GPU and processor support each other.
What is a FLOP? FLOP actually stands for “Floating Point Operations Per Second.” A FLOP describes how many floating-point operations (additions and multiplications) can be performed by the computing unit per second. Usually, this refers to the maximum possible, but this rarely corresponds to practical performance.
In our article about the Xbox Series X, we have broken down what a TFLOP actually is. What these FLOPs mean for the player and how to calculate your own processor:
2. On the PS5, you can play (almost) all PS4 games
According to the stream, the PS5 offers backward compatibility for the PS4 Pro as well as for the PS4. Older versions are not supported.
Some time ago, Sony explained that next-gen crossplay between PS5 and PS4 is possible and had already assumed that there would be backward compatibility with the old generation. Now Sony has specified what the PS5 will actually offer and has also excluded certain games:
Pro Legacy Mode: This supports games that were specifically tailored to the PS4 Pro. On PS4 games, you still find the tagline “PS4 Pro optimized.”
PS4 Legacy Mode: The legacy mode supports the games of the previous PS4 generation. Initially, not all games are supposed to be supported.
At launch, the “top 100” PS4 games are expected to be available. There will still be quite a bit missing, since there are over 4000. However, Sony aims to make a large portion compatible.
PS3 and older generations: these will not be supported according to the stream. This is said to be too complicated and too expensive. Even with the PS3, backward compatibility was very expensive and complicated due to a special chip, and thus disappeared in the new models of the PS3.
3. Graphics and sound will become even more realistic
Ray tracing is supposed to take on various functions on the PS5, in addition to light calculations, also the calculation of audio.
The stream explained that ray tracing will play an important role on the PS5. Ray tracing…
What is ray tracing? Ray tracing is a technology that aims to represent light and shadow particularly realistically. An algorithm calculates how light falls into the human eye and subsequently where the gaze falls.
The downside is that these calculations are very hardware-intensive and can only be handled by powerful machines. Anyone who wants to use ray tracing at this current time also necessarily needs an Nvidia graphics card, as only these currently support ray tracing. However, this could change with RDNA2 for AMD in the future.
If you want to take a look at ray tracing: The shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare supports ray tracing and it looks impressive:
Lead Architect Mark Cerny explained the function of “Virtual Surround Sound,” which is also used in 3D audio.
What technology does the PS5 use for sound? Sony already relied on its self-developed 3D audio with the PS4. This is a special form of virtual surround sound. Sony intends to further improve this while staying true to the old technology. However, Sony does not reveal what exactly will be changed or improved in its stream.
What is 3D audio? Behind 3D audio lies a proprietary (i.e., protected) sound system developed by Sony itself.
It is most comparable to Dolby Atmos or similar sound standards that rely on spatial sound. All of these systems create a virtual surround sound. The player should feel like they are in the middle, being able to precisely locate sounds. But how does 3D audio work?
With 3D audio, sound is already programmed to specific positions in the room, instead of being distributed across different channels as usual.
During sound data playback, a special software processes the sound, and the final calculations are then sent to the headphones or speakers.
5. PS5 needs neither patches nor long loading times
Cerny emphasized that the PS5 should be 100 times faster than the previous console generation. He listed several points why it is so much faster:
Fast boot times: Thanks to the SSD, the boot times of the system should be very low. Loading times should also significantly decrease, as noted regarding the Xbox Series X.
Hardly any loading times anymore: Long loading times annoy many players and are, for example, a major problem in Destiny 2. Especially when games are very large, this can take some time. If these are eliminated, it would likely be a relief for many players.
High-speed streaming: A fast SSD supports streaming by allowing games to run faster. However, most of the streaming work itself is usually handled by the processor. According to Sony, this but has more than enough power.
Deduplication of game data: This involves a system that identifies and removes duplicate data. Deduplication mainly serves storage optimization, so that games or data become significantly smaller and therefore take up less space.
No patch installations needed anymore: According to the stream, no additional downloads should be necessary. How this will be reflected in reality will be seen at the PS5 release.
Lead technician Cerny also explained that the mere transition from HDD (PS4) to SSD (PS5) would bring a massive speed boost. He demonstrated this in a brief comparison:
PS4 HDD
PS5 SSD
Bandwidth
50 – 100 MB/s
5 GB/s
Seek Time
2-50 milliseconds
Instant
Loading time
1 GB in 20 seconds
2 GB in 0.27 seconds
What exactly is seek time? Seek time refers to the time the hard drive takes to find a file on the hard drive. Once found, it can also be used. The lower the “seek time,” the faster the hard drive.
SSDs are a good investment to revitalize a sluggish PC. And for those who still do not have an SSD in their system, we have some tips on why it is particularly worthwhile to buy SSDs right now:
The I/O unit of the PS5 chip. This looks quite complicated, but as a player, you don’t notice it.
Sony plans to focus primarily on speed with the PS5:
Sony relies on a heavily modified chip with eight cores from AMD, which, while only clocked at a maximum of 3.5 GHz in base mode, also has a boost mode that is supposed to deliver more in appropriate situations.
A special I/O unit is also built in, which is supposed to ensure speed. Overall, two co-processors are integrated into the modified chip.
The I/O unit includes a so-called “Kraken Decompression” that is supposed to make data decompression 12% faster than with the PS4.
The chip also contains a dedicated DMA controller.
Furthermore, the GPU integrates what are known as cache scrubbers.
Sony also relies on a modified flash controller.
All these components are supposed to ensure high speed in simple terms. Data is processed in seconds by the system, allowing players to play without any losses.
The components of the PS5 explained quickly
What does I/O unit mean? I/O stands for Input/Output and describes how quickly a device can communicate with or process users. This includes read and write operations.
The I/O unit, for example, is responsible for how quickly data is transferred from the hard drive to the system memory, where it can then be processed.
What is DMA? DMA stands for Direct Memory Access and allows connected devices, such as a sound card or network card, to directly access the RAM without asking the CPU first. This increases data transfer and relieves the processor.
What does cache scrubbers mean? The GPU cache can read any system memory and detect memory errors. If it detects memory errors, it writes the corrected data back to the same/right position. This simplifies the work and requires fewer steps. For the user, this means more speed and more performance.
Therefore, Sony relies on a special flash controller with the PS5. This is responsible for quickly taking over the data from the system.
PS5 Lead System Architect Mark Cerny during the presentation of the technical details in the PS5 stream on March 18, 2020.
What comes after Sony’s presentation? Many had high hopes for the stream, and in our article, we tried to break down the technical details for you. Nevertheless, many questions remain open after the stream:
In Destiny 2, the new and only ritual weapon of Season 10 awaits you in the Iron Banner. Read what we know about the weapon and other rewards.
Where can you find the ritual weapon? At the start of the current Season 10, Guardians went to their trusted NPCs to pick up their ritual weapon quests. To their surprise, neither Zavala, the Wanderer, nor Shaxx had such a weapon as a reward.
In the Iron Banner, there is for the first time a ritual weapon, the bow “Point of the Stack”
What we know about the Iron Banner bow: In the TWaB from March 19, it was announced that the bow “Point of the Stack” awaits all Guardians as a reward after a quest. Throughout the “Super Melting” quest, zones must be captured and kills earned with different weapon types according to the control mode.
You likely do not have to complete the quest in an Iron Banner event. This Season 10 will see three Iron Banner events – the rule of thumb is: Lord Saladin will make an appearance once a month.
In the Destiny Database light.gg , an entry for the Iron Banner bow can already be found. There, Point of the Stack has the following perks:
No Distractions – reduces flinching when being hit
Draw Time – reload speed increases after precision hits
Vorpal Weapon – increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians in their Super
Eye of the Storm – the lower your health, the more precise and faster the bow becomes in handling
However, it cannot currently be confirmed 100% whether the weapon will come into the game exactly as is next week.
The first Iron Banner in Season 10 of Destiny 2
When the Iron Banner starts: Just in time for the weekly reset on March 24, the PvP brawling begins. You will then have exactly one week to impress the Iron Lords with your skills. The first Iron Banner of Season 10 ends at the next reset on March 31.
Lord Saladin is your contact for the Iron Banner
Your contact for the Iron Banner event is, as always, Lord Saladin. He sets up camp in the Tower and offers valuable pinnacle rewards through quests. He also has the quest for the ritual bow in his inventory.
What role do artifacts and power level play? In the Iron Banner, level advantages are activated. This means that players with a higher power level deal and take more damage when facing guardians with a lower level. This will not change in Season 10 either.
These armors await you: The armor sets from the Iron Banner resemble knight armors and cleverly break the SciFi atmosphere of Destiny. From Season 10 onwards, the chance of high stat rolls for Iron Banner armor is significantly increased.
Some skills in The Division 2 are hardly used at all – but some of them are unjustly so. In particular, there are some hidden gems for the endgame that can often make the difference. We present 2 such skills here and explain what makes them worthwhile and competitive.
These two skills are: If you are currently in the endgame of The Division 2 or in the Warlords expansion with the associated Season 1, you will quickly notice that only a very limited repertoire of skills is being used.
Various versions of the drone, the reviver drone stock, the turret, the cluster seekers, and sometimes the new shock trap. But that’s almost where the variety of skills ends, even though there are a total of (with mods) 37 different skills.
There are still some other skills that can greatly help you, especially in the endgame and on higher difficulty levels, but are currently hardly used by anyone.
The Reddit user Guinness603 recently reminded many players of two such skills. They are
the destroyer firefly, which destroys enemy weak points, skill helpers, and environmental explosives
and the combat foam chem-launcher, which immobilizes targets with a load of sticky foam
For this, he received a lot of praise and thanks from numerous agents. What makes these skills worthwhile and competitive in detail, we will now present to you.
Underrated Strength – Especially in the Endgame
Why should I use them? In short: Even though these are not currently the two most popular skills – at high difficulty levels you will effectively be able to stop the enemies that most players are currently struggling with in the endgame – for example, the robot dogs of the Black Tusk, MG- or minigun shooters, and the flamethrowers of the Cleaners. And often better than with the common skills.
As already mentioned: They make your life against the most annoying and powerful enemies, seen by many as too strong, significantly easier.
Against Flamethrowers: Flamethrower units of the Cleaners, especially the mini-bosses, can make your life a living hell on higher difficulty levels. They have enormous range, are very accurate, often hit you even behind cover, and can kill within seconds, if not faster.
The firefly
However, when you use the appropriate modification of the firefly against these enemies, you force them to switch to their melee weapon at the latest with the second attack (the skill charges very quickly) – and that at a distance where other skills can hardly compete. Long before you are in range of the flamethrower.
The foam is even more effective here. The effect remains the same; the flamethrowers are no longer in use, but the radius and duration are significantly increased with the foam. If you trigger the overcharge mechanic, you can completely cover a massive area for an enormous time and eliminate the trapped enemies at your leisure.
Against Robo-Dogs: Another enemy unit that gives many agents headaches is the robot dogs. Depending on the type, these can sometimes kill you with just one shot.
The firefly can take out a purple dog on the Challenging difficulty level with one hit – and that at enormous range. You can send elite enemies to the virtual afterlife with an EMP grenade from the technician specialization and a firefly with 2 “shots”. With overcharge, you can even take out elite dogs with just one firefly, and without an EMP grenade.
You can also target and blow away annoying Black Tusk healers from a distance, before they can set up their healing box.
Against Other Enemies: But the effectiveness of both skills is not limited to the previously described applications. Whether against MG shooters with their vulnerable weak points at the ammunition or against rushers – the foam and the firefly also make your life easier against many other enemies.
It’s definitely worth trying out. Perhaps you will also discover a new favorite skill that you never thought you would.
This Skill is Also Underrated by Many
Also, an alternative with skills: Another underrated skill that is recommended by some players is the decoy with its hologram projection.
So, how about it? Will you give these two skills a chance in the endgame? Do you know any other strong skills or skill mods that many unjustly overlook? Let us know in the comments.
By the way, here you can find some builds for the endgame:
The Division 2 has been plagued by some bugs since the launch of the major Warlords expansion. This has led players to demand that all content be postponed so that developers can first address these issues.
What’s going on? The major expansion “Warlords of New York” brought a lot of new content and adjustments to The Division 2, but also a few problems.
Some players are going so far as to demand that developers should put all planned content on hold and focus on these issues first – even though zombies could potentially come into the game.
Check out here what the agents are demanding and which of these points the developers have already commented on.
Division 2 often frustrates its players with unsightly images and bugs.
Bug list is long – Players demand more service, less content
What is being demanded? A thread on Reddit lists many concrete problems. Users will continue to add to these in the nearly 700 comments.
Hit registration seems broken.
Gear set talents are partially not working.
Ongoing sound bugs.
Poor loot quality on high difficulty.
Enemy damage is too high.
Enemy accuracy is too good.
Enemies are too aggressive.
Enemies take too much damage.
Poor multiplayer scaling.
Agents take damage behind cover.
Enemy status effects deal too much damage.
Season progress reset.
According to the comments, players are most troubled by enemy accuracy. There are bandits who deal strong hits with their SMG or shotgun over sniper distances. So, you receive high damage from enemies that shouldn’t be a problem because they are too far away. “asdgred” says: “I wish our shotguns would work at those distances”.
The thread creator “Iamleeboyle” is also annoyed that during the many emergency maintenance and server downtimes in recent weeks, bugs that helped the player were often fixed. He clearly states: “Massive, postpone all upcoming content drops! Fix the game first”.
Some players can overlook certain bugs when the game delivers images like this.
Developers provide a lot of information but leave many things open
What do the developers say about it? The responsible parties are already on the case. In the weekly community stream “State of the Game” from March 18, the developers talked about many of the points currently causing criticism. Just a week prior, Massive offered solutions for two of the biggest issues. However, there is much more on the fix list:
The issues with gear sets are known and have the highest priority.
Damage from NPCs will be reduced.
The “sponginess” of enemies when in groups will be decreased. Enemies will take less damage.
Work is underway on the issue with season progress.
Irregularities in hit registration will be investigated.
Poor loot quality at higher levels will be revised.
However, the developers also say that they like the high difficulty level after the WoNY expansion. If they reduce the damage from enemies, their armor and health will get a boost instead. However, how they intend to achieve this while simultaneously addressing bullet sponginess remains largely open. A powerful damage build should help you here.
Players of World of Warcraft can benefit from a special bonus. There are 100% additional experience points.
Currently, our world is in an extraordinary situation due to the Corona virus. In many places, there are now curfews, schools are closed, and people are advised to avoid gatherings. This leaves plenty of time for diversion in video games. Blizzard is providing additional incentives here, granting all players of World of Warcraft a hefty bonus of 100% additional XP. This is perfect for leveling Twinks.
Leveling Twinks? Now is a good time.
How long will the bonus remain active? Currently, it is planned to maintain the bonus until April 20, 2020 – at least one month. This roughly corresponds in duration to many global measures and regulations, such as curfews.
How do you get the XP bonus? You just need to log into a character that has not yet reached level 120. The bonus should appear directly in your buff bar.
Is the bonus stackable with heirlooms? Yes. You can combine the 100% bonus with heirlooms and the “War Mode” buff, so you can get almost 200% additional experience points. Anyone with level potions for further XP bonuses can also activate them.
More tips and tricks for leveling can be found in our guide:
Does the XP buff also apply in WoW Classic? No, the buff is only active for the modern World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. However, players with only a Starter Edition or still “Legion” also benefit from the buff.
Players of World of Warcraft Classic do not receive a bonus. Although Blizzard does not provide a reason here, such a buff would likely go against the “spirit of Classic,” which is supposed to remain as unchanged as possible.
Perfect preparation for Shadowlands: Such a buff is unique for World of Warcraft. Anyone who wants to seize the opportunity – and is currently stuck at home anyway due to the situation – should take the chance to prepare as many characters as possible for the next expansion Shadowlands. There probably won’t be a better opportunity for this anytime soon.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
This weekend you can play Sea of Thieves on Xbox One for free as part of the “Free Play Days”. The popular pirate MMO allows you to step into the role of a true sailor and offers you crazy adventures.
When and where can Sea of Thieves be played for free? From March 19 at 8:00 am to March 23 at 8:00 am, the MMO Sea of Thieves is available to you for free. However, you will need an Xbox Live membership, which is required anyway to play online.
After the free period ends, you will need to purchase the game to continue using it. Alternatively, you can get a Game Pass which includes a Live membership and Sea of Thieves permanently.
Since everyone should ideally stay at home due to the coronavirus, it’s a great time to try Sea of Thieves on console.
A paradise for pirate fans – Sea of Thieves
Is the offer valid for PC? Sea of Thieves can be played on PC, but it is not available for free there. You can play the MMO if you purchase the Ultimate Game Pass from Xbox which also includes the PC version of Sea of Thieves.
But even outside of the sailing tours, there is much to experience. You can get drunk in bars, sing sea shanties, or find treasures.
You can form a crew with up to 4 players and take on quests from NPCs. But you can also venture out alone and experience the vast world of Sea of Thieves.
Sea of Thieves celebrates its birthday and 10 million players
What is currently happening in the MMO? In January 2020, Xbox announced on their website that Sea of Thieves has been sold over 10 million times. The MMO is very popular.
10 million pirates have already roamed in Sea of Thieves
The game is now celebrating its second birthday. It was released on March 20, 2018, and celebrates the day with the free weekend and a special event:
From March 20, the “Hungering Deep” event will take place for a week, where you can earn new cosmetic items and in-game currency.
What about current updates? On March 12, the “Heart of Fire” update was released with new missions, new treasures, and rewards. It was already the third free content update for Sea of Thieves in 2020.
You could theoretically play this update if you’re quick enough this weekend.
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Which other games are available for free on Xbox? Along with Sea of Thieves, there are two other games that Xbox promotes in their blog post for Free Play Days:
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Smite
While it’s worth trying Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey over the weekend, we advise against Smite. This MOBA is generally free to play.
Campers are a nuisance in many shooters. In Call of Duty: Warzone, annoying roof campers make life difficult for many. One player has cleverly dealt with a camper squad on the roof and is being celebrated for his method.
This annoys many players: The battle royale map of CoD: Warzone is huge, and especially in built-up areas, you often encounter annoying campers. You are often surprised by them from rooftops. There is usually little you can do against them, especially when they have cleverly positioned themselves as a team on the roof and control all access points.
Player fights back: One player encountered such a roof camper team that had settled on the roof of a building. Reddit user Yayeetdab045 managed to handle the situation cleverly and took out all the roof campers on the building in one go – without even seeing them.
How were the campers eliminated? The method is quite simple but clever. Yayeetdab045 entered the building where the camper squad was sitting on the roof and called for a precision airstrike on his own position in the building.
Shortly after, there was a loud bang. Since the player was inside the building, he was unharmed. Instead, the airstrike directly hit the roof of the building and wiped out the entire camper squad that was on it.
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What is so special about it? Normally, you need to keep an eye on your enemies or at least their position to mark them for an airstrike. But here, the whole thing happens blind, as the airstrike is called on one’s own position or inside the building. This mechanic is cleverly exploited to get rid of the campers on the roof.
What do other players say? This airstrike is celebrated by numerous users as a true heroic act. Many thank the author of the post for his video. Because not everyone knew this method to quickly and effectively put an end to a roof camper infestation. Campers are generally so unpopular, that even hackers sometimes receive more praise.
Today, on March 20th, it is Xur day in Destiny 2. But where has the exotic vendor ended up this time? We will tell you everything about Xur’s location and inventory this weekend.
But first, let’s take care of Xur and pay him a visit.
All info about Xur on March 20, 2020 – PS4, PC, Xbox One, Google Stadia
What does Xur have for sale? Does the noodle-faced one bring us a rare exotic weapon this week? And does he sell interesting gear pieces?
We look forward to his visit and take a look at his inventory.
When does Xur appear?
This is Xur’s time: Today, the mysterious vendor appears at 6:00 PM, as usual. He shows up on a planet of his choice and sells his exotic goods there until the next weekly reset, on March 24th.
But expect that starting April 3rd, Xur will not appear until 7:00 PM for some time.
Where is Xur? This is his location this weekend
Xur’s position: You can find Xur this time on IO in the area “The Giant’s Scar”
Xur’s current location on Io
Xur’s inventory from March 20 to March 24 – All Exotics at a glance
Weapon:The Queenbreaker – Linear fusion rifle for 29 Legendary Shards
In FIFA 20 it is clear who the Player of the Month for February in the Bundesliga is. It is Jadon Sancho and his card looks pretty strong.
What is the POTM? Every month, the Bundesliga “Player of the Month” or “POTM” is chosen. Fans can vote for their favorite. For February, Jadon Sancho has prevailed.
His new POTM card will be available in FUT for one month
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The competitors in the voting were his teammate Hakimi, as well as Kainz, Gnabry, Kimmich, and Nkunku.
The strength of Sancho’s POTM card
This is the new card: Sancho’s new POTM card receives a strong overall rating of 89 and a shift to the left wing. His standard gold card, on the other hand, is a RM card.
Those looking for a left-wing forward for their Bundesliga team will probably be pleased with Sancho’s new card. With his top values, he is currently one of the best players for the left wing in the entire Bundesliga.
Outstanding are especially his extreme speed and his very strong dribbling values. Moreover, with his good passing values, he should also manage quite a few assists. However, the shooting values are not at top level. Still, one or two goals should definitely be possible.
Here’s what the Sancho SBC looks like
Here’s how to get the card: To get Sancho’s new card, you need to complete various SBC tasks:
Exchange an 85-rated team into the “Borussia Dortmund SBC”
Exchange an 86-rated team into the “Bundesliga SBC”
The costs for this amount to about 230,000 coins (PS4).
If you are still looking for Bundesliga defenders, you should check out Jérôme Boateng’s special card:
The Twitch streamer and CoD lover DrDisrespect totally lost it in one of his recent rounds in the battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone. He compared the game to Fortnite, which he vehemently hates.
This is what drove him to rage: In a duel against 2 other players, DrDisrespect landed quite a few hits and seemed to be winning the fight. In the end, however, he lost and completely blew up.
For him, it was unimaginable that his opponent was still alive, and he even spit in anger. After that, he said that all Fortnite players should come to this kids’ game.
DrDisrespect rages and compares it to Fortnite
This is what the streamer says: After his elimination, DrDisrespect rages and says: “I think players who play Fortnite should come right over here. Come, play this game. Come, play this kids’ game. Are you joking with me?”
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What does the streamer mean by the Fortnite comparison? DrDisrespect is generally not a fan of Fortnite. Recently, the streamer tried it again and turned it off again after a few unsuccessful rounds. He then also said that Fortnite would die soon.
For DrDisrespect, Fortnite is a game that has nothing to do with skill but a lot to do with luck. It’s not the one who shoots better that wins, but the one who builds better. A headshot is often not lethal.
It seemed that the streamer had a similar experience in Warzone now. Even though he hit two opponents multiple times, he did not eliminate them; rather, they were able to take him out.
DrDisrespect is currently growing thanks to Warzone: Although the streamer is currently criticizing Warzone so much, the battle royale is bringing him significant growth. According to Sullygnome, he gained nearly 37% more viewers in the last 7 days.
