Crunch Time: A Young Developer Works Themselves to Death – 89 Hour Week

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

An employee of Netmarble Neo, the South Korean studio behind Lineage 2 Revolution, has died due to overwork. The game developer reportedly worked himself to death.

“Crunch Time” – that’s what you call it when overtime is piled up on a video game. There are horror stories circulating about developers who no longer see their family, pull insane hours, lose touch with reality, and take weeks to get back to normal.

But rarely does a story end as brutally as this one: Last year, three employees of the Korean game studio Netmarble died from causes suspected to be related to overwork. Netmarble has denied this.

Now the South Korean government has accepted one of the three deaths as a work-related accident, allowing the family of the deceased to file for compensation.

The deceased was employed at Netmarble Neo, a subsidiary studio of Netmarble, which works on the mobile hit Lineage 2 Revolution.

The employee died in October 2016 from a heart disease, from atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries.

lineage 2 revolution 02

The developer was only in his 20s

The employee reportedly worked irregular night shifts and overtime for 12 weeks before the illness led to his death.

As the employee was in his 20s and no symptoms were detected during a health check beforehand, the authorities assume that the death is work-related. This was reported by the Korea Times.

The employee is said to have worked 89 hours a week in the seven weeks leading up to his death. Even on the day of his death, a Sunday, he was supposed to work again, according to the family of the deceased.

The game he worked on became a mega-hit

  • The death of the employee occurred in October 2016.
  • Lineage 2 Revolution was released in early 2017 in South Korea and made an insane amount of money in the first months.
  • Netmarble abolished overtime and weekend work in February 2017. Employees now receive compensatory days off if they have to work on weekends, and supervisors are not allowed to assign work after hours. This reportedly happened in connection with the deaths. MMO Culture reported on this.

Netmarble is the company behind mobile MMOs like Marvel Future Fight and Lineage 2 Revolution, which is highly anticipated here in the West. The company is considered a rising star in the Korean gaming market because it entered mobile early, while the big players NCSoft and Nexon are still struggling with the transition from PC to mobile.

We explored the unusual success story of Netmarble in this article.

Gaming giant focuses on mobile MMORPG – “Korean Steve Jobs”

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. korea times
  2. MMOCulture - Überstunden bei Netmarble abgeschafft

Destiny: The penultimate Trials of Osiris are live! – The map on 4.8.

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

In the MMO shooter Destiny, the Trials of Osiris start today, on August 4th. They are the penultimate Trials in the history of Destiny 1. On which map will it be played?

After the “House of Wolves” expansion in mid-2015, the Trials of Osiris took place for the first time in Destiny. Good two years later, on August 11, 2017, the starting signal for the Trials will ring for the last time. Then it will be over. Only in Destiny 2 will they return in an updated form.

So today, on August 4th, the penultimate Trials of Osiris in Destiny 1 begin. If you want to go to the Lighthouse one more time – or for the first time – you don’t have much time left.

destiny-uferzeit

The Trials start today at 7 PM. They will last until the next weekly reset on Tuesday at 11 AM. This time, the map Shores of Time will be played.

What are the Trials of Osiris?

In the Trials, you engage in PvP battles in the “Elimination” mode. You compete in teams of three against each other and try to fill your scorecard with victories. If the opposing team is fully defeated, you win a round. Fallen team members can be revived. Here, not only strong gear matters, but also communication among the Guardians. An extensive knowledge of the map is advantageous.

At 5 and 7 wins, you’ll receive random rewards from the pool of Osiris. Additionally, you should keep an eye on Brother Vance’s bounties for extra rewards. If you’re performing well, you can reach Mercury with a “Flawless” ticket and loot the chest with the fine loot.

Good luck in the Trials, Guardians.

How will the Trials be in Destiny 2? Are they really called “Trials of the Nine” in the sequel? All previous info and speculation about the Trials in Destiny 2 can be read in the link. Bungie believes that the new Trials will blow you away.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Icognito and Kangama are available in 8 German cities for Pokémon GO!

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time < 1 minutes

Surprisingly, starting this weekend, Icognito and Kangama will appear in Pokémon GO in Germany! We will show you where this will happen.

Great news for Pokémon GO trainers: Unusual Pokémon are set to appear in Europe starting this weekend. Niantic is referring to rare Pokémon such as Kangama! This event is expected to be active for several days and reward you with these rare monsters. We will show you when and where you can meet them.

Catching Kangama in Germany

On the Niantic blog, the developers have now announced that a special event is expected to kick off this weekend. Some Pokémon, which have been rare in Europe before, will appear in selected cities starting this weekend. The monsters include Kangama and Icognito.

This event is expected to last until August 21, according to the announcement. The end date might not be quite fixed yet. Additionally, lure modules are expected to be activated at local Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers during the weekends of August 12 and August 19. You should take a closer look at your adventures there.

The following cities will participate in this event and can apparently attract the unusual Pokémon:

  • Vienna, Austria
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • Dijon, France
  • Lille, France
  • Lyon, France
  • Marseille, France
  • Nice, France
  • Paris, France
  • Rennes, France
  • Berlin, Germany 
  • Bochum, Germany 
  • Gera, Germany 
  • Leipzig, Germany 
  • Mönchengladbach, Germany 
  • Munich, Germany 
  • Oberhausen, Germany 
  • Recklinghausen, Germany 
  • Milan, Italy
  • Naples, Italy
  • Rome, Italy
  • Oslo, Norway
  • Warsaw, Poland
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Badajoz, Spain
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Cádiz, Spain
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Seville, Spain
  • San Sebastián, Spain
  • Valencia, Spain
  • Valladolid, Spain
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Zurich, Switzerland
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Leidschendam, Netherlands
  • Zoetermeer, Netherlands
  • Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Cardiff, United Kingdom
  • Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Manchester, United Kingdom

Looking for more players for raids or Pokémon adventures?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Mehr als 50.000 Cheater schon vom Ban-Hammer in PUBG getroffen

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

Over 50,000 cheaters have now been banned from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The automatic ban system takes a hard stance against cheaters.

Those who attempt to hack or cheat in the Battle Royale shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will face the automatic ban system. This software has already banned over 50,000 players from the game – In June, the number was only half that.

PUBG cheats are not tolerated

In a successful online game, a clear stance against cheats should be shown. PUBG clearly demonstrates that it is against cheats and hacks that provide unfair advantages in the game. A software is specifically designed to kick these cheaters out of the game.

At least 50,000 cheaters have already been thrown out of the survival shooter by the anti-cheat software “BattlEye”. PlayerUnknown revealed this on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/PLAYERUNKNOWN/status/892979214256791552

Since June, this number has at least doubled, as there were still 25,000 banned cheaters in PUBG.

The BattleEye software claims to be the gold standard of anti-cheat services. Looking at the current numbers of banned cheaters, there might indeed be something to this title.

If players use aim bots or wall hacks, the software can detect that very quickly and ban the users. Some are even removed from the game so quickly that they don’t even get a chance to see the cheats in action.

Report function as a second layer of security

If a cheater does manage to get past the BattlEye software, players can report them using a new button in the game. This appears after you have been killed by an opponent. This reporting feature was implemented in the August patch of PUBG.

Recently, we reported that PUBG ranks third in player counts on Steam. It’s clear that some of these players try to play unfairly. The automatic ban system takes the fun away from many of them.

Currently, players legally annoy popular Battlegrounds streamers with their honking

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. DotEsports

Hearthstone: Kripparian is not paranoid, they are really after him

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

The streamer Kripparrian is often a victim of “stream sniping” in Hearthstone . Now he has defended himself – with a simple trick.

When streamers build a large circle of fans, there are also some unwanted viewers among them. Particularly popular in many competitive games is “stream sniping”.

You wait for the streamer to start a game of his and then try to log in at the same time to face him as an opponent. While this leads to matches against the streamer in more or less fair matchups in shooters, it’s a different story in card games.

This is what happens to the streamer Octavian Morosan, better known as Kripparrian in the Hearthstone scene.

There’s nothing paranoid about it – Kripp is onto something

In his streams, he regularly complains that stream snipers are looking at his cards. Many viewers have told him that he is just being paranoid – until now.

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Time and again, he encountered players named “Sniper” followed by a number during his arena runs. Kripp claims that he played a quarter of all arena games against the same opponent in just one month – which cannot be explained by coincidence.

But that was just an initial suspicion that turned out to be false: Behind stream sniping is a whole group, a tight-knit guild.

Numerous decks for every occasion

The strategy behind this “guild” is simple and effective. They gather as many accounts as possible and create the best arena decks they can. They plan out the strengths and weaknesses of the deck in detail. Then they save the deck until Kripparrian plays a deck that is particularly vulnerable to that of the stream snipers.

Because the snipers caught Kripparrian despite him implementing a delay in his stream, it was highly suspected that someone from Kripparrian’s friends list leaked when he was searching for an arena match.

Hearthstone Kripparrian Sniperlist

Kripp then cleaned up his friends list and, at the next opportunity, added one of the players with the suspicious name “Sniper” as a friend. Contrary to all expectations, he even accepted! Through “friends of friends,” Kripparrian then gained insight into all the names associated with this stream sniper syndicate. A small sample of that can be seen here:

In the meantime, Kripp has infiltrated this strange guild of viewers and rendered it inactive for the time being.

Kripp says: “I know that sometimes I come across like a paranoid jerk whining because I’m losing to snipers… and that’s true. I’m really paranoid, but this shit is really happening.”

But the whole story amusingly and slightly creepily illustrates how far people will go to annoy a well-known streamer. You are only considered paranoid until you are actually being followed.

Have you seen the stealth hero Valeera yet?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. kotaku.com

Oops, players just lost their home bases in Fortnite

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

Next time, they want to announce such changes before implementing them.

Fortnite Cross Play and Buy

Wipe mainly affects frequent players

The bases or Storm Shields in Fortnite are important. Players build their home base in a zone by expanding it over several missions. A lot of time and resources go into it. The base wipe now especially affects advanced players who have invested a lot of time in Fortnite.

Most casual players are likely still in Stonewood. There, everything is still fine.

The possibly incomplete patch notes for 1.4 are even available in German under this link at Epic.

Tips for beginners can be found here:

Fortnite Guide: 20 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

In Fortnite , patch 1.4 has robbed players of their bases in the advanced zones. This was planned but was not mentioned in the patch notes.

As reported by PcGamesN, there is a larger problem with Fortnite. The recent patch 1.4 has robbed players of their bases in three advanced zones: Plankerton, Bru-Tal, and Twine Peaks. However, the beginner base in the first zone, Stonewood, is unaffected.

Balance changes required base reset

Developer Epic has reset the three Storm Shields, i.e., the home bases, in these three zones with patch 1.4, as they have redesigned the underlying maps. The aim was to better balance the difficulty increase.

Therefore, the bases on these maps were deleted to avoid conflicts with the new maps.

The problem is: This change was not mentioned in the patch notes. They acknowledged that they made a “big mistake,” said Producer Phelps in a forum post. 

fortnite-17

No wipe planned during early access, but such things can happen

Players are somewhat reassured: While continuing with the early access of Fortnite, there will occasionally be improvements that require changes to core systems such as skill trees, research trees, or the Storm Shields. If something is reset, players will be compensated. However, the overall progress will never be reset.

Phelps says: The material costs for building bases and traps on the three bases in Fortnite will be compensated for players. All that stuff goes into the Storm Shield storage.

However, time spent by players in building their bases cannot be returned. It is hoped that players will use the opportunity to build an even better base when they rebuild.

Next time, they want to announce such changes before implementing them.

Fortnite Cross Play and Buy

Wipe mainly affects frequent players

The bases or Storm Shields in Fortnite are important. Players build their home base in a zone by expanding it over several missions. A lot of time and resources go into it. The base wipe now especially affects advanced players who have invested a lot of time in Fortnite.

Most casual players are likely still in Stonewood. There, everything is still fine.

The possibly incomplete patch notes for 1.4 are even available in German under this link at Epic.

Tips for beginners can be found here:

Fortnite Guide: 20 Tips and Tricks for Beginners

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. pcgamesn

Try the biggest hit of the first half of 2017 for free on PS4 & Xbox

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

A five-hour demo of Ghost Recon Wildlands is now available to players on PS4 and Xbox One. Convince yourself and your friends of the tactical shooter for up to four players in co-op.

Ubisoft’s popular open-world shooter “Ghost Recon Wildlands” now offers a special introductory course for console players. A demo with five hours of gameplay is now available on PS4 and Xbox One.

In these five hours, you can move freely and do whatever you feel like in GRW. There are no restrictions! Play the story, complete side missions, or shoot against hordes of Unidad enemies. You can use the demo however you see fit.

Download Ghost Recon Wildlands Demo now (PS4, Xbox One)

If you have not been sure whether GRW meets your expectations and have not been able to commit to a purchase, you should try the demo. There you can test what the game has to offer at no obligation. The demo is available for free worldwide for consoles – unfortunately, no demo can currently be found on Steam or UPlay. Too bad, PC fans.

To play the demo, however, you need the premium service PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold. If you are subscribers to these services, nothing stands in your way. You can download the tactical shooter from the respective store and then set out with your friends. As VG247 reports, you can play with other demo players as well as with players who already own the game.

The game’s popularity in the gaming community is evident from the reports from Ubisoft. GRW is Ubisoft’s hit of the year

Ghost Recon Wildlands Screenshot

Wildlands has a lot to offer – Progress is carried over

In summary, you are part of a special unit in Ghost Recon Wildlands. Your task is to take down the Santa Blanca drug cartel, which has gained too much power in Bolivia.

Ghost Recon Wildlands Screenshot2

On a large map, you fight through the story of the tactical shooter, deciding for yourself from mission to mission whether to go in loud or use a stealth tactic. Often both approaches lead to success, and you have the freedom to choose.

In the five hours that the GRW demo offers you, you won’t discover everything that Wildlands has to offer. Jungle, desert, and mountain areas are filled with many details and unique missions that require more time to plan for.

The good thing is that progress from the demo is carried over. So if you decide to buy the complete game after the demo, you don’t have to start over. Right now, this weekend is a great opportunity to try the demo version of GRW – Ubisoft has a knack for good timing.

Oops, unfortunately this affiliate widget is no longer available.

Free PvP content planned: Ghost Recon Wildlands is getting a PvP mode that we introduce to you here.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. VG247

Offers: FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition; The Bundesliga live on Sky subscription for 19.99€ – Advertising

Kevin Nielsen Kevin Nielsen Reading time 3 minutes

The 1st and 2nd Bundesliga of the 2017 / 2018 season can be watched live on TV only at Sky. The Sky subscription is currently available as part of a deal. Additionally, at Saturn, you can get FIFA 18: Ronaldo Edition at a bargain price.

The 2nd Bundesliga is already facing the second matchday of the new season this weekend. This season, the 2nd league can only be seen on Sky, thus exclusively on Pay-TV. In recent years, the struggle for promotion often turned out to be very exciting, but this time it could be very close. Unlike previous years, no seemingly big club from the 1st Bundesliga has been relegated this season. Although HSV made every possible effort once again, they managed to secure their place at the last second as always.

This results in several promotion favorites in the 2nd Bundesliga, all of whom face each other on an equal footing. Additionally, in about two weeks, the 1st Bundesliga will kick off the 2017 / 2018 season. The current German champion, FC Bayern Munich, is struggling through the preparation with five losses so far. The probable first contender, Borussia Dortmund, is also stumbling during the preparation. Will there be a more exciting championship battle this time?

sky bundesliga

Watch the Football Bundesliga live on TV for only 19.99 Euro

For those who wish to watch all of this live on TV, a Sky subscription for the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga is the best preparation. Currently, several subscription options are available at Sky, and additionally, with any subscription combination, the first two months are free.

You can get, for example, the Sky Starter Package together with the Sky Football Bundesliga Package, Sky Go, and the Sky+ HD hard drive rental receiver for only 19.99 Euro (instead of 37.49 Euro) for the first 12 months. However, to avoid paying the normal subscription price in the second year, you should cancel at the end of the first year. The minimum contract duration is 12 months.

The catch with this offer is that it only provides the Bundesliga in SD quality. If you prefer to enjoy the matches in HD, you can opt for the HD option for an additional 10 Euros per month. Thus, the Bundesliga in HD will cost you 29.99 Euro (instead of 47.99 Euro).

The complete sports package in HD, including Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, Formula 1, and more is available for an additional 10 Euros per month. The total price here is 39.99 Euro (instead of 61.48 Euro).

Create your Sky wish package here

FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition for 69.99 Euro at Saturn

The virtual world of football kicks off its new season in September with the latest installment of the FIFA series. FIFA 18 will be released on September 29 and focuses mainly on improved animations and player movements. This year, Ronaldo, the current world footballer, is the cover star of FIFA. At Saturn, you can now get the FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition for only 69.99 Euro. This saves you 20 Euro compared to the regular price. To get the discount during the ordering process, simply select PayPal as your payment method.

FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition

You will receive the following bonuses with the FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition:

  • Play with 3 days early access starting September 26
  • Up to 20 FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (1 per week for 20 weeks)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo FUT loan player for 5 matches
  • Special Edition FUT jerseys designed by 8 FIFA soundtrack artists

FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition PS4 for 69.99 Euro
FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition Xbox One for 69.99 Euro

The offers presented here are equipped with so-called affiliate links. With a purchase through one of these links, we receive a small commission from the respective provider. This does not affect the price.

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Finally! Relic slots in WoW without order campaign in patch 7.3

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

Order campaign for artifact relic slots? Cancelled! New models for goblins and worgen? In progress! We have the answers from the WoW developer Q&A.

The current Game Director of World of Warcraft, Ion Hazzikostas, appeared on camera this past Thursday (08/03/2017) with Community Manager Josh “Lore” Allen to answer player questions. We have compiled the most important highlights for you.

Content for Patch 7.3 is better structured

Many players fear that the upcoming Patch 7.3 might have content that is poorly structured, similar to Patch 7.2.

WoW Rift Azeroth Argus

In the early days, there was hardly anything to do on the Broken Coast and the weekly quest unlocks were just a bad joke for many. There was very little real story and exciting things like mounts were hidden behind barriers of nearly 12 weeks.

On Argus, that is supposed to change. Content will also be unlocked weekly, but significantly faster. Already in week 3, the last chapter of the Argus campaign should be unlocked, granting access to the Netherlight Crucible, which allows further improvements to artifact weapons.

No more quests for the 3rd artifact slot

Also important are the catch-up mechanics of Patch 7.3. These allow newcomers and returnees to get into the current gameplay much faster.

  • As soon as a character reaches level 110, all relic slots of their artifact weapon will be unlocked. Completing the order campaign becomes optional.
  • You no longer have to complete the quest chain on the Broken Coast in order to upgrade the artifact weapon beyond level 34.
  • Once you reach level 110, a character’s artifact knowledge will be at level 41. It then increases by 1 each week (up to a maximum of 50). Research is no longer required.
    wow-legion-ion-hazzikostas-josh-allen-interview

A question that keeps coming up is the topic of reforging. With this feature, players could redistribute stats on items in WoW for a while. If someone didn’t want critical strike rating, they could get mastery instead. In general, Blizzard was not satisfied with reforging, as it did not provide players with the desired choice. Everyone just looked up their most important stat on the internet and reforged that onto the items – there was no real choice.

Goblins and worgen get new models – someday

World of Warcraft Worgen

And finally, a little outlook for worgen and goblins: work is being done on the new character models for these two races. First, the spell animations are on the agenda, but the new models of both races are also high on the priority list.

In Patch 7.3, it’s going to be macabre – there are dead children as pets!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. mmo-champion.com

Our games for the weekend – What are you playing from 4.8. to 6.8.?

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 3 minutes

Today is Friday and for many of you, the weekend is just around the corner. It’s time to dedicate yourself to your games on PC, console, or mobile. We want to know what games you have planned for the weekend and will introduce you to the games from our editorial team.

Many gamers enjoy the tranquility of the weekend to focus on games on PC, PS4, Xbox One, or other platforms. Whether one chooses to play games they have been playing for years or tries something completely new varies according to mood.

In these weekend articles, we will collect ideas together with you in the comments on what games to play over the weekend. We will also introduce what we are playing from the editorial team.

Shooter fans could dedicate themselves to the World War shooter Battlefield 1. Although the game is already half a year old, it is still worth playing. Various classes for specific play styles, different maps, and game modes provide enough variety and fun to enhance the weekend in multiplayer with friends. Our guest author Dennis says: BF1 is still worth it!

Battlefield 1 Desert Shooting

Prefer being outside? Maybe this weekend you are in the mood for adventures “in the fresh air” instead of a shooter? In Pokémon GO, there is currently a legendary flying Pokémon to catch, which will only be available in the game for a few more days. Perhaps this is your chance to upgrade your monster collection with this special bird. Those still looking for players for raids in Pokémon GO should follow these tips.

Pokémon GO Legendary Pokémon

What is the Mein-MMO editorial team playing?

This weekend we will, of course, provide you with articles, but we will also dedicate ourselves to various games. The selection is diverse: while some focus on Mein-MMO classics like Destiny, others hunt survivors to hang them up. Thus, everyone has their own way to relax.

These are our games for the weekend:

I have Ghost Recon Wildlands planned for the weekend. Together with a friend, I will start from scratch and test new solutions for the various missions in Bolivia. Hopefully, we will take down the drug cartel!

And now, the most important question: What are you playing this weekend? Do you have tips for the Mein-MMO community?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Titanfall 2 should have sold better – Developer struggles with sandwich release

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The shooter Titanfall 2 has sold worse than expected. That seems a bit unfair, says the head of Respawn.

The head of Respawn, Vince Zampella, is somewhat satisfied with the sales of Titanfall 2, but also somewhat not. In an interview with the US site Gamespot, Zampella says Titanfall 2 is successful and has sold well, but notes: The sales of Titanfall 2 should have been higher.

Titanfall 2 did not sell as well as it should have

He attributes this to two reasons:

  • Perhaps the competition at release was too numerous
  • or the pricing policy was too aggressive

In any case, Zampella finds it was a rough window to release Titanfall 2.

Titanfall 2 was released on October 28, between Battlefield 1 (October 21) and Call of Duty (November 4). It is referred to as a sandwich release – squeezed between these shooter blockbusters.

Although Electronic Arts announced in advance that this was not a problem because Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 target different audiences, it seems that the plan did not quite work out.

Titanfall-2-Handshake

Positive Community

Zampella has a lot of good things to say about Titanfall 2. The fanbase is fantastic. There is little negativity or toxic behavior compared to other player communities. Zampella hopes that the Titanfall franchise can be continued.

However, there are currently no official plans. Zampella says that they are working on “more Titanfall,” although he cannot reveal what exactly.

Mein-MMO says: Fans of Titanfall 2 rave about the game and repeatedly praise the outstanding DLC policy of providing everything for free. But especially Battlefield 1, competition from within the same company, seems to have stolen a lot of momentum from Titanfall 2. Additionally, there is the burden of the predecessor, which many do not have fond memories of.

Titanfall 2 shows that the coveted “Christmas release” time window does not offer room for many games. If Titanfall 2 had been released at a different time and had had the headlines to itself for weeks and months, the balance might look different now.

Titanfall2 Dog Banner

An example of the special community of Titanfall 2 can be found here:

Titanfall 2: This is community closeness – Dead dog immortalized in the game

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. gamespot

WoW geht’s gut, Hearthstone und Overwatch noch besser – Blizzards Finanzbericht

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 3 minutes

The financial report from Blizzard and Activision for Q2 2017 creates a positive vibe. Most games are doing well. However, some are not mentioned …

With the end of July, another quarter has been completed, prompting major companies like Activision and Blizzard to present a financial report. We took a look at the key figures from Blizzard’s statements and checked the state of the game developer.

Overwatch – A year after release more popular than ever

Overwatch Uprising Artwork

Shooters typically have a relatively short half-life, but Overwatch has improved over the past year. From April to June 2017, there was the highest number of active users of the game ever. This was largely due to the Anniversary event of Overwatch, which celebrated the first birthday of the hero shooter.

Especially the PvE mode during the “Uprising” event was very popular and achieved “records in playtime”.

World of Warcraft: Legion – Better than the last expansion

WoW Legion Demon Hunter KostanRyuk

According to the financial report, World of Warcraft with the current expansion Legion is in a good position. The time spent in the game by users increased in the quarter compared to the previous year – this is not surprising, as there was a content drought around this time last year.

Furthermore, “Legion performs better than the previous expansion”. This is hardly surprising, as the air was relatively quickly out of Warlords of Draenor and players had no long-term motivation.

For some speculation, the exact phrasing “previous expansion” seems to cause concern. Because that would mean that Legion performs better than “Warlords of Draenor” but worse than Mists of Pandaria.

Hearthstone – Un’Goro sets new records

Hearthstone Journey to Ungoro

The world also looks rosy for Blizzard’s collectible card game, Hearthstone. After the release of Journey to Un’Goro, it also set a new record for monthly active users, surpassing all other expansions.

Arguments that “the game is dead because of RNG” seem to be debunked – Hearthstone thrives better than ever.

Diablo 3 and Heroes of the Storm – the great silence

However, there is no clear statement about other games. Diablo 3 is only mentioned in passing, in conjunction with Overwatch, WoW, and Hearthstone, that “new content during the quarter has led to strong player involvement”.

No word is said about Heroes of the Storm. This is surprising, since HotS celebrated its “2.0” update during this period and should have generated more attention due to a cross-promotion with Overwatch. The lack of mention of the game leaves much room for speculation.

Heroes of the Storm HotS Varian Break-Header

StarCraft II is also not mentioned.

More revenue than in 2016

Blizzard’s revenue in the quarter amounts to 1.63 billion dollars, an increase from 1.57 billion dollars in the same period last year. The majority of this is earned by Blizzard from digital sales, which account for 1.31 billion dollars or nearly 80%.

In summary, it can be said: Blizzard had a really good spring and the games are on a good track.

It’s also about real money here – a man sold items and gold as a hacker for over 20 years, living splendidly off it.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. investor.activision.com
  2. massivelyop.com

Ho-Oh and Mewtwo still far away? Code from Pokémon GO deleted

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

Ho-Oh, Mewtwo, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou might be further away from us than expected. The base catch rates of these legendary Pokémon have now been removed from the Pokémon GO code.

Legendary Pokémon have been the center of attention in Pokémon GO over the past weeks. It started with Lugia and Articuno, which were added to the game during the app’s first anniversary. Articuno has now been replaced by Moltres, which will appear in the game as a raid boss for the next few days.

Fans are already looking forward to more legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo and Ho-Oh, but their base catch rates have now been removed from the code. Will they be released in Pokémon GO much later as a result?

Ho-Oh was actually expected in August in Japan

When something is changed in Pokémon GO, it can sometimes be noticed beforehand through changes in the game’s GAME_MASTER file. For this reason, this file is regularly checked by data miners for new or edited entries.

According to PokémonGOHub, there is now new information. Recent changes to this GM file affect five legendary Pokémon: Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Specifically, the values of the base catch rates of these monsters have been removed. This raises suspicions that these Pokémon will not be catchable in the game in the near future.

However, the BCR values (Base Capture Rate) of Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos were also only added shortly before their release. So there is no reason to lose all hope here.

Data miners were not surprised that the BCR values of Mewtwo and the legendary beasts were removed. It was unusual that the values for Ho-Oh were removed since it was actually expected at the Pokémon GO Stadium event on August 14 in Japan. However, that had only been a rumor without official information.

As already mentioned, the values could be updated again in the GAME_MASTER file in the short term.

Pokémon GO Legendary 2nd Gen
Source: Pokewiki

We are curious when there will be news about Ho-Oh and if something changes shortly before the event in Japan. If anything happens, you’ll read about it here at Mein-MMO.de.

We show you how long the legendary birds are available in Pokémon GO in our schedule

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PokémonGOHub

My MMO asks: Fast food – Have your gaming sessions become shorter?

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

Everything in gaming pushes for shorter matches. It fits better with today’s time, or so they say. But is that really true? Are you playing longer, shorter, or earlier now?

It’s the trend: short matches, short sessions. The dungeon run should not last longer than 15 minutes, the round in PvP maybe 12 minutes. Everything should go quickly, no one should get bored. The heartbeat of gaming has become faster.

In modern mobile games, the rounds only last 2 or 3 minutes, so the bus ride could already be over.

The little number in between

Where long sessions were common in RPGs, and fans raved about getting so immersed in a game yesterday that they lost track of time, the trend today is towards “mini-games.” Hardly a game does not set a round length that is between 10 and 20 minutes.

Developers see a turning point in players’ consumption behavior. Attention spans are getting shorter. Players want to be rewarded more often; there should always be something happening.

Destiny 2 Blue

Short quests, short instance runs: This also means “Many rewards.” Players do not have to play for an hour until the next kick comes in the form of a reward; it is only 15 minutes away.

In short matches in PvP, so the logic goes, defeat is not so bad, because even if you are at a disadvantage, the next fight is only minutes away. In long matches, where you quickly start to go down the losing path, the frustration is greater.

The nightmare in MOBAs like LoL: a match runs long. If a 20-minute fight suddenly lasts an hour, everything gets pushed out of shape.

Players cannot plan; real life calls, but the game is on the line – such “outliers” disrupt the player’s rhythm. A consistent game length is needed. One reads about games: We don’t want that anymore. We introduce rules to capture such outliers.

Zilean LoL

A bit of this, a bit of that

The trend is towards gaming menus. Players do not want to play just one game for 4 hours in an evening; they want to sample here and there. Three rounds of Hearthstone until everyone is there, two instances in World of Warcraft, two games of Overwatch with the regular group, and then still Heroes of the Storm with friends to unwind – a menu, and everything is available in Blizzard’s Battle.net ecosystem.

In the “big MMORPGs,” the trend seems to be going towards “packeted content.” The Elder Scrolls Online, which originally wanted to offer only epic battles, is now focusing on battlefields. Raids in World of Warcraft have long since removed tedious trash sections. Now raids are divided into wings. Everything should be portioned so that players can better manage the large bites of content.

Even the slow-food game par excellence, Final Fantasy XIV, has now come halfway to meet players with “Jumping Potions.” Chef Naoki Yoshida feels the change of the times.

FinalFantasy Auryn

Are you playing shorter now?

We want to know from you: Does this philosophy of the gaming industry fit your user behavior? Have your game sessions become shorter? Are you still playing games for several hours at a stretch, or are you looking for the kick and switching regularly back and forth? Or are you just cramming tiny bites of the same game over and over?

Has your gaming behavior changed?

The survey from last week is still on:

Mein-MMO asks: Which MMOs are interesting for female gamers?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

FIFA 18 – Gameplay-Video: Komplettes Match mit Real Madrid

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

A first gameplay video of FIFA 18 shows a complete match featuring the stars of Real Madrid.

In early August, EA Sports lifted the curtain and revealed the main innovations in the “Ultimate Team” mode of FIFA 18. They held a dedicated livestream, where they not only presented the FUT changes but also gave a first look at “FIFA 18” gameplay.

In the meantime, recordings of this match can be found online:

https://youtu.be/xVQ1wDbK8Yw

How does FIFA 18 play?

The Real Madrid stars Isco and Marco Asensio played alongside the YouTubers Castro1021 and Spencer FC in a 2v2 match. Both teams played with Real Madrid. The cover star of FIFA 18, Cristiano Ronaldo, was virtually present. You can see the UI design for the Spanish La Liga.

However, the video quality is not exceptional, which has led some users in the comments to joke that the gameplay video looks like “FIFA 17.5” or even like FIFA 15. Therefore, you should not judge the graphics of FIFA 18 based on this video.

fifa-18-gameplay

However, you can get a good impression of the gameplay and some innovations like the player archetypes. With the archetypes, the footballers move at different speeds based on their height and body shape, taking shorter or longer strides when sprinting and being quick or sluggish in ball handling.

There is plenty of entertainment in this video, by the way. There is an early red card and a total of 6 goals are scored.

At the end of the video, a trailer for the ICONS stories in FUT 18 is shown. All information about these icons in FUT 18, the “new legends,” can be found here.

You can find out how FIFA 18 will ultimately play for yourself at least by the demo in September. We have compiled all the previous information about the FIFA 18 demo at the provided link.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. GameStar

Everyone starts from scratch in Paladins – OB56 with Ranked 2.0 & Hard Reset

Leya Jankowski Leya Jankowski Reading time 3 minutes

Paladins ranking system is being reworked with the new patch OB56. In a live stream, lead designer “HiRez-Martini” explained that there will be a fresh start for all players in the ranked mode. You can find out how the new system works here.

Ranked games in Paladins are being turned upside down and redesigned. Ranked 2.0 comes with patch OB56 and gives all players a fresh start. With a “hard reset”, all ranks will be reset to 0.

In a live stream, Paladins lead designer “HiRez-Martini” explained how the new system for ranked games will work.

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Ranks now apply to the player account – no longer for individual champions

The biggest adjustment is that from Ranked 2.0 onwards, the rank applies to the entire player account.

Play Paladins for free on PS4, Xbox One, PC

The old system allowed each champ to have its own rank and there was a top-100 leaderboard for each. Depending on how well you played with the character, it received a border that displayed its rank. So it was possible to have different rankings with the characters. In addition, there was a total score of all matches and champions combined. There was also a list of the top 100 players here.

The problem with this system: It was difficult to observe your overall progress. Characters could all receive a different rank, but there was no meaningful way to measure performance for the account.

paladins inara cassie kl

Paladins Ranked 2.0 receives a tier system with 7 ranks

Paladins will get a tier system starting from patch OB56, which applies to the entire player account. The new system works like this:

  • After the “hard reset” has been conducted, each player must play 15 qualifying matches.
  • Players will be classified into one of 7 tier levels based on the qualifying matches. The tier levels consist of: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Grandmaster. 
  • Each tier level is divided into 5 divisions. This means that in each tier level, there are still 5 sub-levels that need to be climbed to advance from Bronze to Silver.
  • Those who win ranked games will earn triumph points. Once a player has earned at least 100 triumph points, they will advance one division.
  • Those who lose ranked games can also lose triumph points. Once the points are down to 0, the player falls down in the division.
  • The tier levels Master and Grandmaster are an exception. There are no divisions here, as only the best players gather here.
  • With Ranked 2.0, a ban system will also be introduced. The teams will decide before the ranked match which champion cannot participate in the round.
  • To participate in the qualifying matches, players must own a certain number of champions. This ensures they still have enough options if their champion is banned.

The image below shows Paladins’ new tier levels. From Bronze to Diamond, there are 5 divisions to climb. The Master and Grandmaster levels have their own ranking system.

Patch Preview Content Ranked Icons

There are rewards for playing in ranked mode

Players receive rewards for their progress in ranked mode. The rewards are divided into two types.

Play Paladins for free

Rewards for ranking up:

  • 1 champion skin chest for qualifying for ranked
  • For reaching tier level Gold 5, there is a Drogoz skin
  • Frame for each tier level
  • Crystals for players reaching the rank of Master or Grandmaster.

Rewards for winning & playing in ranked mode:

  • 1 weapon chest for 25 ranked matches played
  • An epic Drogoz weapon for winning 100 ranked matches
  • The title “Forged In Battle” for winning 200 ranked matches.

What do you think of the adjustments in Ranked 2.0? The new system is sure to have a significant impact on Paladins eSports scene.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny 2: “Almost only positive signals” – More beta players than in Destiny 1

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

Activision is rubbing its hands together: Destiny 2 is going to be a super hit. Feedback from the Destiny 2 Beta has been overwhelmingly positive, and more players have played the Destiny 2 Beta than the one for Destiny 1. A lot of DLCs for Destiny 2 have already been sold.

Activision presented its quarterly report yesterday. On the sidelines, there were some remarks about Destiny 2. From Activision’s perspective, things couldn’t be going better.

Activision man Eric Hirshberg says:

  • There are a lot of positive signals regarding Destiny 2
  • Activision has “enormous faith” in the title
  • They have received “almost entirely” positive feedback about the Destiny 2 Beta, from both the press and the fans

Many pre-order customers have bought the season pass as well

Destiny 2 Cabal

Expansions as important as the base game

  • Activision plans multiple content expansions for Destiny 2 and they are extremely important, likely the most important aspect overall. “Follow-up content” is just as important as the main game.
  • Activision wants to satisfy the fans’ hunger for more content. They did not succeed in doing this with Destiny 1. Now Vicarious Visions and High Moon Studios will work alongside Bungie on Destiny 2. Activision has expanded its developer arsenal to meet content demand.
Destiny 2 Explosion

My MMO thinks: The servers could have potentially been ablaze, and marauding hordes of Destiny fans could have been rampaging through Seattle, and Activision would still have received “only positive signals”. The Destiny 2 Beta was certainly no catastrophe, but it was “uniformly well-received by fans and the press” – in our filter bubble, this was not the case. Rather, the beta was controversial – especially the decision to slow down PvP.

Nevertheless, it is evident that Activision has clearly received the signal “Give us more content” from Destiny 1. Now it remains to be seen if they will implement it. High Moon Studio is said to have been working on Destiny for 2 years – we reported on this in May 2015. We do not know what they are doing and whether it will truly reach the quality of Bungie’s A-Team. This will be a central question in the coming months.

Destiny 2 Blue

Clearly, Destiny 2 has a lot of expectations from Destiny 1. Many people are looking forward to the game and have “blindly pre-ordered.” Hopefully, Destiny 2 can also meet these expectations. However, for most of these casual players, a “good story” and great PvE content in Destiny 2 will be more important than whether PvP has slowed down.

The next bite of Destiny 2 will be given to players with the PC Beta in a few weeks. The PC Beta is expected to be larger and better than the PS4/Xbox One Beta:

Destiny 2: PC players will get a better beta – extra map & improvements

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. gamespot

In 2016, they wanted to end GTA Online at some point – Today it lives longer

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

GTA Online has not performed this well since its release in the last quarter. It’s a reason to extend the lifespan of GTA Online and continue to provide fans with fun in multiplayer for a long time.

The release of GTA 5 was almost four years ago, and yet the game still breaks records today. According to the latest financial results from publisher Take-Two, the last fiscal quarter was particularly successful. Grand Theft Auto Online had the highest player counts since its release in June and July, and many of them are willing to spend money on the game.

The revenue from the multiplayer part of Grand Theft Auto V greatly exceeded the expectations of the publishers. As a result, GTA Online is expected to continue for much longer.

GTA Online – Running better than expected

In GTA 5 Online you can earn money by completing jobs as a President of a Motorcycle Gang or as a CEO. These jobs involve grinding and take a lot of time to get rich. An easier solution to increase your in-game currency is the purchase of so-called “Shark Cards”. These are credit cards that you can buy outside the game for real money to increase your digital balance.

With the GTA$ you can buy fast supercars, houses, bunkers, or similar content.

The business model of GTA 5 apparently works really well because the online service of GTA significantly contributed to the increase in net revenues for Take-Two. As the publisher explained, net revenues for the first quarter of the fiscal year increased by 34%. Instead of $311.6 million, it is now $418.2 million in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

Consumer spending numbers (including digital currencies, Shark Cards, etc.) rose significantly by 72% compared to last year and account for 63% of digital net revenues. The biggest contributors were Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto Online, as well as NBA 2K17, WWE SuperCard, and WWE 2K17.

Gta 5 Gangster

More Lifespan for GTA Online

This increase in revenue is of course also pleasing the publishers, who are passing their joy on to the fans of the Grand Theft Auto series. The game is getting more “lifespan” and is expected to keep providing fun for you for a long time.

“In addition, due to the continued success of Grand Theft Auto Online and other factors, the Company has determined that it is necessary to extend the life of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online for purposes of calculating deferrals.”

A year ago in June, there was still a statement from CEO Strauss Zelnick that Grand Theft Auto V would eventually be ended to give the franchise a break. That now seems farther away than ever. In June 2016, the publisher also expected that revenues would decline after three years – the opposite is true.

For the next fiscal year, Take-Two is counting on Red Dead Redemption 2 and an undisclosed title

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. AR12Gaming
  2. gamespot 2016 Statement

Destiny: Xur today – Location and inventory from 4.8. – Xur forgets the weapon

Tom Rothstein Tom Rothstein Reading time 2 minutes

In the MMO shooter Destiny , Xur arrives today. Where is the Agent of the Nine on August 4th and what items does he have in stock? Location and inventory.

While the last Iron Banner in Destiny 1 is currently ongoing, the T-shirt offer from the book of triumphs has already expired, and the Trials of Osiris are nearing their end, Xur remains unfazed by all the hustle and bustle surrounding Destiny 2.

The Agent of the Nine continues to reliably appear every weekend for the Guardians. An end date for Xur is not yet known. He may offer his exotic items until Bungie eventually shuts down the servers for Destiny 1 in the distant future. Perhaps Bungie has other plans for Xur as well. We will find out sooner or later.

destiny-xur

Today, on August 4th, everything around Xur is still as usual. Let’s welcome him together.

All information about Xur in Destiny on August 4th, 5th, and 6th on PS4 and Xbox One

Xur arrives today at 11 AM. He will disappear on Sunday, August 6th, at 11 AM. In the meantime, he eagerly takes your Strange Coins from you. In return, you receive items from his inventory.

Where is Xur? Location today

Xur has specific positions in the Tower and the Reef where he likes to stay. This time he is located in the Reef.

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Offer and inventory of Xur – List of items

Weapon: ? – Xur forgot the weapon!

Weapon bundles: The Last Word with attachment and Telesto with the Queen’s Order for 30 coins and 25 Silver Dust each

Titan: Thagomizer – Gauntlets with 64 intellect

Hunter: Radiant Dance Machines – Leg armor with 50 intellect and 49 strength

Warlock: Sunbreaker – Gauntlets with 69 Discipline

All armor pieces cost 13 Strange Coins.

Legacy Engram: Special weapon for 31 Strange Coins

What will the Trials be like in Destiny 2? Bungie believes the revamped PvP event will blow you away!

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Honking at streamers is the new “stream sniping” in PUBG

Patrick Freese Patrick Freese Reading time 2 minutes

Funny scenes are happening in PUBG streams. Cars approach the streamers and honk continuously. If shots are fired at the cars, they quickly drive away. The new honking feature in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a test of patience for popular streamers.

The battle royale shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds received a new feature with the last patch that has already stressed some players’ nerves within the first hours. We’re not talking about an overpowered weapon or an invincibility trick, but honking. Car honking.

The honking is now used to really annoy streamers. If players find a streamer in their match, they approach with continuous honking and circle the streamer until they die or quickly flee. For popular streamers, the stream honkers are just as annoying as stream snipers.

Not just killing, but also annoying

In the August update for PUBG, there were not only 1st-person servers and a new weapon but also functioning car honking. Players quickly found ways to use these honks particularly annoyingly.

Instead of killing streamers with “sniping,” they circle around them with honking cars. The constant honking quickly becomes tiresome and throws the streamers off balance.

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In the PUBG community, “stream honking” quickly replaced “stream sniping” for many players. Sniping is indeed a reason for banning in the battle royale game. However, the rules do not prohibit visiting streamers and “entertaining” them with honking concerts.

Stream Honking instead of Stream Sniping

A popular target for the “honking” is the player Grimmmz, one of the best-known streamers in the PUBG community. He recently drew attention to himself because he believes that bans for stream snipers are justified. With this opinion, he drew the wrath of many players who were apparently wrongfully banned for this offense.

Clips in which Grimmmz was annoyed by stream honking have now been removed from his Twitch channel. However, they can still be found in the Google cache. Here is the Twitch clip on webcache.googleusercontent.com

As an outsider, stream honking is funny, but what is it like from the streamer’s perspective? Being constantly pursued by honking cars while wanting to play your game can quickly become annoying. Will there soon be a honking regulation that limits it to 10 honks per minute? In the following video, you will see more honking scenes from PUBG

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Here honk he plays Twitch chat PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and is surprisingly successful 

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Polygon