In Star Trek Online, Season 11 will start in a week and it has some quirky plot twists in store.
The Mirror Universe is not only the place where everyone wears beards, but it also reveals unexpected traits in Star Trek characters. “Leeta” was a minor character from the TV series Deep Space Nine, a Dabo girl who took on a more important role as the story progressed. However, her mirror counterpart, “Mirror Leeta,” operates on a whole different level. There, she is an admiral and pursues even more power in an exciting story.
In the “main story” of Season 11, Star Trek Online will deal with the aftermath of the Iconian War. This has created a desire for new discoveries across all factions, ushering in an age of exploration. In Season 11, players will encounter a new species and explore the consequences of time travel during the great war.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , Banshee-44 has new test weapons and rewards for players. What legendary weapons are available?
On Wednesday mornings at 11 AM (next week at 10), Banshee-44 has new toys for the Guardians in Destiny. We present to you what you need to carry this week and what new rewards are available.
Those who have gathered a bit of reputation with Banshee-44 can order a weapon today, which Banshee will then deliver next week in various versions.
Can come with Roulette and Fireball: the Uffern HC4.
These legendary weapons can be ordered
Clicking on the name of the weapons opens the corresponding page in the official database.
Arminius-D, an automatic rifle by Häkke, low impact, large magazine, fast reload. Can be quite useful with perks like “Persistence” or “Spray and Play”, but generally not highly sought after.
SUROS-Dis-43, a scout rifle from Suros, decent scout rifle, nothing special, can come with perks like “Perfect Balance”, Snapshot or Roulette, but you need to be lucky. Relatively decent range and impact, but there are strong alternatives among scout rifles.
Judith-D, a hand cannon from Häkke, outstanding impact, terrible stability, a very interesting choice. The Judith-D can get perks like Snapshot or Zen Moment, and Spray and Play is possible as well, should definitely be checked out by friends of quality hand cannons.
Uffern HC4, a hand cannon from Omnolon, with decent impact and stability. A balanced elegant weapon from Omnolon, can get Fireball and Roulette, absolute killer perks. Definitely an interesting and elegant choice!
Lyudmila-D, an impulse rifle from Häkke, balanced stats, perks like Fully Automatic, Headseeker or Snapshot are possible. The Lydumilla is considered a strong, solid impulse rifle. Definitely worth taking.
With the two hand cannons or the impulse rifle, you can’t go wrong. Remember: You don’t have to redeem the weapon if you don’t like the perks next week; you can wait another week to see if they are stronger then.
Wednesday? Really? Didn’t I just write the last Complaining Wednesday? Where in the Nether has the time of the last week gone? Where was the weekend and the time I wanted to work on personal projects?
So many games, so little time
It is, without wanting to discuss it for long, surely a luxury problem. The last days have completely turned into playful stress. What once was a mere hobby for relaxation and allowed me to switch off more or less, has now often turned into pure stress. This is particularly evident during events, like the countless Halloween events that are currently waiting in almost every game.
Halloween events are currently waiting in every game. What should you start with?
It was different before. The decisive reason – at least for me – is probably that I managed with one game back then. There was World of Warcraft for me and then maybe occasionally a single-player RPG, but that was it. There was hardly any pressure; the games did not insist that you had to be effective to succeed. Perhaps it is not the games that have changed, but my attitude towards them. Or a mix of both. Efficiency is an important keyword today, even in leisure activities. I always think of the almost philosophical trailer for Ekko.
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“People waste so much time. And then they wish they had more of it. They want their days to have more hours; their years more days; their lives more years. (…) If you can’t make the best of every single moment, you don’t deserve a single extra second.”
And that’s exactly how I often feel in the past few days. I log into WildStar, trying to gather as many marks as possible to get the limited Halloween decorations. I rush over to WoW to collect a few Sweet and Sour for the fancy Deathwing costume that I won’t be able to get otherwise.
I could participate in the beta of Blade&Soul or try out the Early Access of Knights of the Fallen Empire. Heroes of the Storm got Artanis, whom I want to try out. And then the latest episode of Tales from the Borderlands came out, which I definitely want to see. Oh yes, and RP.
I need RP because that is my elixir of life.
The costumes want to be taken.
At the end of the day, I accomplished everything. But nothing really. It doesn’t feel satisfying. Did I use the time effectively? Certainly. Did I have fun doing it? I don’t know. And that probably equates to a “No.”
What am I actually complaining about here? That I have too much to game and can’t concentrate on any of it properly? A bit silly, one might say. Depressed Cortyn is depressed.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Another Protoss joins the battles of Heroes of the Storm . Artanis can now be selected by some players.
His Life for Aiur
Since the early hours of the morning, the newest hero in Heroes of the Storm is available. The Protoss warrior Artanis enters the battlefield and can now be selected – provided you have pre-ordered StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. The Hierarch of the Daelaam is exclusively in Early Access for all pre-orders of the strategy title.
In line with the release, Blizzard has presented a new spotlight video that showcases the strengths and weaknesses of Artanis:
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We have already taken a detailed look at his abilities. It will still be a while before he is available in the shop for the rest of the players.
A Small Patch for the Medic
A little sturdier: More HP and faster regeneration.
The newest patch has not only unlocked Artanis but also brought two small changes to Lt. Morales. The medic lady was dying in battle much too quickly and should now be a bit more resilient, as her hit points have been increased by about 17%. Along with this, her basic HP regeneration was raised from 1.46 per second to 1.75 per second. Her passive ability remains unaffected.
DICE speaks more in detail about additional heroes and villains that will soon be playable in Star Wars Battlefront.
Old Men and Young Princesses
Star Wars Battlefront will be released next month. While the beta could already be tried out by all interested parties a few days ago, many characters and game modes were still not available. Developer DICE now speaks a bit more fundamentally about those things that have been withheld from players so far.
First up is Leia Organa, a top-notch supporter. Although she can take out enemy soldiers with her shot “Troopers Bane” with just a single strike, she shines primarily in boosting her teammates. Players who are revived near her spawn as improved Alderaan honor guards.
At the same time, she can secure dangerous points by placing a strong shield that holds enemies off for a while. Lastly, she has supply packages that she can request to heal allies or provide them with other power-ups.
Han Solo, on the other hand, is a cold-blooded loner. He impresses with high mobility and strong firepower. For a few seconds, he can overload his blaster, allowing him to fire as many shots as he wants without risking overheating the weapons.
Because luck is always on the smuggler’s side, he can even disable vehicles and severely damage them with his “Lucky Shot”. But even in close combat, Han is anything but defenseless: his “Shoulder Charge” makes short work of all enemies who confront him in tight spaces.
Finally, the villain Palpatine has been introduced. The Sith Emperor embodies intrigue and raw power. His fragile appearance is meant to create the impression that he is defenseless and slow, but that is far from true. His lightning powers annihilate enemy soldiers in seconds, and his chain lightning can even take out entire groups at once.
Thanks to the Force, Palpatine can also dash in a straight line across the battlefield – suddenly frying rebels from close range. Like Leia, he also has support abilities and can provide allies with power-ups and healing.
New Game Modes
In addition to the new characters, there was also discussion about the previously unmentioned new game modes, hinting broadly at what players can expect:
In “Heroes vs. Villains“, 6 players play against each other, with half of the players taking on the role of heroes in the battle and the rest as regular soldiers. The goal is to eliminate all the heroes of the opposing team. If you die yourself, you respawn as a regular soldier. These matches are supposed to be “short and intense”, in contrast to the larger battles.
Epic 1v1 battles await in the Hero Battles.
The developers are particularly proud of Battles, a mode that was probably specifically developed with consoles in mind. Two players can openly duel their rivalries in split-screen and engage in exciting 1v1 shootouts with blaster fire. If that seems too monotonous, they can switch to the “Hero Battles” – the same game mode, but with heroes and villains. Who wouldn’t want to see Luke fight against the Emperor?
Finally, there are also Training Missions, but these are basically just extended tutorials that are meant to familiarize players with the controls and different abilities.
First, hand in Praedyth’s Ghost (from the bonus mission Paradox) – You probably had to hand in the Ghost last time. It seems that at least one day must pass in between, It was the same with the Sleeper Simulant. Players who just completed the Paradox mission with the bonus objectives today will start the quest tomorrow.
Join the Future War Cult
Gather reputation for them (about 50 Light particles should suffice)
Defeat a Major or Possessed Minotaur
Disassemble its core
Kill Atheon, the raid boss from “The Glass Vault”
Find a chest in the mission “Twilight Gap”, which is actually a PvP map. You can only enter solo, you have to regularly cleanse yourself in Light until you find the chest
And finally, in the mission in the Black Garden in Destiny, defeat the enemy “Groundskeeper” while its rage meter remains above 100. You achieve this by eliminating the smaller enemies, the Minotaurs, around him.
Here is a video guide in German on how to go through the individual steps. For much, you need a group.
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The “No Time to Explain” itself is a pulse rifle with kinetic damage. It is fully automatic, precision shots return to the magazine. It is very similar to the “The Stranger’s Rifle” from the first year of Destiny with further selection perks Soft Ballistics/Improved Ballistics/Targeting Adjustments and Quick Reload/Hand Loader/Custom Stock.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Today the early access to the latest expansion of Star Wars: The Old Republic began. Accordingly, a new trailer is waiting …
“All fall before the eternal throne!”
Since today, Knights of the Fallen Empire is available for all players in Early Access who bravely maintained their subscription for the last two months. Star Wars: The Old Republic is raising its level cap from 60 to 65 and expanding the game with an extensive story campaign, which will continue in the coming months.
If you are not lucky enough to access the new content right now, you will have to wait another week and can occupy yourself with the new trailer in the meantime.
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Honestly, I am a bit concerned about the quality of the synchronization in the trailer … but maybe it’s just the impression. Let’s see for ourselves next week if the game can deliver what BioWare has been promising for months.
Blade&Soul continues the series of class presentations and today provides a closer look at the furious Berserkers.
Are you ready to take me on?!
We are just before the beta phase of Blade & Soul in Europe and North America and the developers are regularly releasing new information about the classes. To better prepare players for the game, we now take a closer look at the Berserker, a tanking team player.
The Berserker not only benefits from the attention of its enemies, it is actually dependent on it. Only then can it unleash its most powerful combos and take down foes in no time. Particularly feared is its ability to simply lift opponents off their feet and hold them helplessly in its grasp, or to hurl fallen foes into the battle as projectiles.
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In group content, a Berserker is essential, as it allows other classes, such as the Force Master and Kung Fu Master, to achieve peak performance. However, only Gon can become Berserkers – those who wished for a raging Lyn are out of luck.
For more about the game, the beta, and the classes, check out our Blade&Soul theme page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny a patch will be deployed this evening, on 20.10. The update is supposed to increase the rewards of the Nightfall Strike.
This evening, a patch for Destiny is scheduled for 7:00 PM, a hotfix. If everything goes smoothly, players should not be kicked from activities. They only need to return to the title screen when they are in orbit, log back in, and load an update. Maintenance with a longer server downtime should not take place.
As soon as the patch notes are available, we will translate them and report on what has happened in Destiny on 20.10.
By the way: According to a new post from Bungie, it reveals how the loot should be in the raid. The post is also available in German. Basically, nothing changes compared to earlier. Those who tackle the heroic mode of the raid should also receive the loot they would have gotten had they tackled the “normal” mode.
Update: The patch is now reportedly live. It is 1.54 MB. And allegedly, a new quest from the Future War Cult is active… Hm. Some are already calling “No time for explanations!”, an exotic weapon that is still undiscovered. But at the moment, all this is still mysterious. Some believe, that you need to have done the special things in Paradox.
Patch Notes for 2.0.1.2.
Temporarily removed the extra shots of the Nightstalker talent “Quiver”. The talent will be restored later.
The Nightfall Strike now has a 10% higher chance for legendary items (from 50% to 60%). The base level of legendary items has increased by 10. There are now ghost shells in the Nightfall Strike, but no more antiquated runes. Legendary engrams can no longer drop from Nightfall bosses, but still the exclusive strike items. Additionally, there should be more Strange Coins and Three of Coins.
In the hard mode of the raid, Oryx is guaranteed to drop a raid itemalso without Broken Fragments. And the Broken Fragments only drop in hard mode if the player does not already have them from the normal raid.
The weekly crucible bounty also provides 10 points stronger legendary rewards, the number of Strange Coins has been increased, and ghost shells have been added to the rewards.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the Korean MMORPG Black Desert , the dates for the first alpha test are now known.
In Black Desert, things are supposed to move quickly with the Western launch. An alpha has now been scheduled for next week.
It starts on Monday morning, October 26th, and goes until the evening of November 1st. To get into the alpha, you should keep your eyes peeled. Some fan sites will be distributing keys through giveaways. There will likely also be a few available on Black Desert’s social media.
On reddit, the community has compiled a few international sites that players should keep an eye on if they are particularly eager for the alpha. It seems to be the best chance to get into the Black Desert alpha by checking these sites and participating in the respective giveaways.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In collaboration with Artcraft Entertainment, we are exclusively raffling a Collector’s Edition of the upcoming MMO Crowfall – as the world’s first magazine.
What is Crowfall?
Crowfall is the hope of MMO nostalgics who wish: There must be more than question marks over NPCs, than instanced battles, than portioned content. Described as a mix of “Game of Thrones” and “EVE Online,” Crowfall aims to provide an alternative to the MMO sameness of the post-WoW years. To achieve this, some ideas from real-time strategy games were looked at, so that an MMO game with “consequences” could flourish again. A strategy game where players compete for dominance using the means of an MMO.
But they simultaneously want to prevent the typical fundamental problem: early advantages trigger an avalanche, the strong players become permanently stronger and dominate. In the beginning, the world is still exciting and in turmoil; later, the structures solidify, and an advanced world stagnates.
Therefore, with Crowfall: The gameplay principle is constant, but the game world is not. Just like in a board game, a world has an “expiry date.” At first, the conditions become increasingly harsh, then it goes under – a new game on a new world begins. Players take their loot and move on. We have reported several times on the Kickstarter success; especially in the following posts, you can get an idea of it:
The physical edition with all contents will be sent to the winner when the game is released. However, the winner will receive the Alpha access right away, so they can also participate in the Alphas right away.
Last instructions from the Game Director are meant to ease the launch into the Guild Wars 2 expansion for all players.
Guild Missions in the First Week
Shortly before Guild Wars 2 is expanded by Heart of Thorns, Game Director Colin Johanson gives some tips in the official forum that players should keep in mind when logging back into the game after the update.
The first guild missions will be for PvPers.
The guild missions can be chosen freely with Heart of Thorns (between PvE, WvWvW, and PvP), but not in the first week. The settings will only take effect for the following week. After the launch, this option is set by default to “Mixed”, meaning a random mix of all options. In the first week, there will be 3 missions from PvP and WvWvW, this has already been verified on internal servers. Guilds should therefore be able to prepare for this already.
Changes to the Graphics
Particularly colorful effects will be toned down in Heart of Thorns. Many animations have been revised to not display as many particles during high player and/or enemy counts, which not only slowed down many computers but also significantly limited the overview of the battle scene.
More effects? Better not. That just costs clarity.
In conjunction with this, the symbol for engineers has been revised – it should now be more distinct from that of the elementalists and thus also contribute to better clarity.
Fractal Leaderboards Are on Hold
Although the developers wanted to introduce the new leaderboards for the Fractals of the Mists at launch, they were not finished in time for the release of Heart of Thorns. They will be added in a future patch. As a small consolation, it is promised that these leaderboards will be significantly more interesting than previously planned. The longer development time will definitely have positive effects on the players. However, it was not mentioned whether this will happen in the form of rewards.
For more information about the Heart of Thorns expansion, you can visit our Guild Wars 2 topic page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The two Korean MMORPG classics Lineage II and Aion will be coming to Steam in the West.
According to 2p.com, NCSoft plans to offer two of its somewhat aged games to a larger audience in the West via Steam. Lineage II is over 10 years old and is expected to shine on Steam once again. Aion is also quite old, and is also set to release on Steam this fall.
According to NCSoft, both titles are blessed with a strong and loyal fanbase. They want to introduce them to a larger audience through Steam. A Steam presence is the next logical step.
Fits into NCSoft’s strategy to expand its presence in the West
Recently, NCSoft has shifted its focus to the West, wanting to expand its presence after having been scarce for many years – the new president has a Western affinity. The upcoming release of Blade and Soul also supports this, and they’ve brought in a key employee for community work from rival Blizzard.
In the competing game Tera, the Steam launch caused a significant boom. However, they had to scale back shortly after and block Steam access for players in Europe. The EU publisher of Tera had issues with this so-called “new global version.”
The first pre-alpha of the upcoming competitive MMO Crowfall has concluded, and the developers are reflecting on it in a post-mortem.
For the developers, the analysis of network connections and stability was, of course, very important. The measured ping times also played a significant role. In the beginning, average times were around 500ms with spikes in the 2000ms range (sometimes even up to 18,000ms). However, by the end, the average times were 50-150ms. On the official website, they provided more details about the technical progress in a blog post (crowfall.com). The most important finding was how long it takes for a command to arrive at the MMO server from the player and be sent back.
Furthermore, some interesting facts emerged. As seen in the following graphic, the Confessor was the most popular archetype of the beta.
And so, confessors fired approximately 52,385 fireballs between September 23 and October 4. However, this type of information is rather not usable. It became more interesting when analyzing other skills during the same period. Only 369 Hellfire spells were cast, and Knights and Legionnaires used Charge only 198 and 90 times, respectively, but their primary attacks with the left mouse button were used 22,981 and 18,457 times. This led the team to the following questions that now need to be resolved:
Do people not understand the alternative combo accessed with “E”?
If this is the case, is it because of the user interface?
Are QWERTZ players distorting the data?
Is the E key too cumbersome to press?
Would a new key assignment solve the problem?
Is the time window to press this key too small?
Are the alternative combos weaker than the primary attack?
The developers have learned a lot from this first pre-alpha of Crowfall, such as that the server controller is very sensitive to latency. The big advantage is that the team around Crowfall is clearly beginning to be transparent early on and working closely with players to ensure the best possible gaming experience in the end. Future alphas will provide further important information based on gameplay logs, including the impact of this and that archetype and how its powers are utilized. In the next alpha, which starts in November, players can look forward to a new archetype: The Champion.
Additionally, we are excited to exclusively show you the first artwork of the Druid class from the MMORPG Crowfall! This depicts the male Druid, who seems to be very connected to nature and the animal world.
By the way, you should take another look at Mein-MMO.de tonight. There’s something to win.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In World of Warcraft the Hallow’s End has begun, bringing numerous new rewards and changes this time …
Just don’t lose your head
If you have gotten used to the Hallow’s End in World of Warcraft in recent years, you might be surprised by all the changes this year. To help you keep your head, like a certain rider from the Scarlet Monastery, we have summarized the changes for you.
New Daily Quests in the Garrison
Players will notice the biggest changes in their garrisons. A new NPC offers 4 Daily Quests. The tasks are relatively easy, and the four mission objectives are very close together. By completing the quests, players receive Creepy Supplies. These can be exchanged for various rewards next to the quest giver, allowing you to decorate your garrison festively.
The various packages not only serve appearance purposes but also attract new battle pets to your land or even attackable spiders that may drop the toy Bag of Spectral Spiders with some luck.
Two expensive but impressive costumes
If you want to make an impression, you can once again buy the costume of the Lich King Arthas this year. It costs 200 Sweet and Sour, but has 50 charges, each lasting an hour. If you find the old Frost Throne invader outdated, you can alternatively secure a costume of Deathwing in human form for the same price. Especially players who have already collected all the other rewards from previous years may be interested in the costumes.
Another costume toy can be farmed in the area of the Daily Quests. The various enemies have a 1% chance to drop the Coin of Many Faces. This toy allows you to choose a different appearance once per day for an hour. According to the developers, there are hundreds of different possibilities!
… and don’t forget Pepe!
Achievement hunters should make a quick stop at their garrison, as it’s necessary to discover the little bird Pepe with his costume for a new Hallow’s End achievement. In the Alliance version of the garrison, he waits in the graveyard, on the grave of Ray D. Tear (a nod to the canceled raid that was originally planned for WoD). In the Horde garrison, Pepe waits behind the mines on some rocks.
With a Pepe on your head, the day is much more beautiful.
The Hallow’s End event is still active until the morning of November 1st, so there is plenty of time to collect all the rewards. If you don’t have enough Sweet and Sour for all the rewards, you might want to send a secondary character for collecting.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Whether gaming, image and video editing, office work, or watching videos. A monitor is essential for that. However, each application area has different requirements for the device.
TN, MVA, PVA, IPS, TFT, LED, and 4k or Ultra HD are just some of the terms one encounters when choosing a monitor. They are also often used as a substitute for televisions, as they now offer the same functions thanks to HDMI or Display Port. Special variants like 3D devices or curved monitors are also available. For better understanding, we explain relevant technical terms – for example, we also address the difference between Hertz and FPS. Finally, as usual, there are the purchase recommendations.
It is perfectly understandable that one eventually loses track of what all of this means. For this reason, this article will deal with exactly this topic.
[toc]
The Panel: TN, VA, and IPS
Left: TN panel in deactivated state Right: TN panel under voltage 1 – backlight 2 – separation layer 3 – polarizing filter 4 – color layer 5 – liquid crystal layer. Source: cyberport.de – Panel Technologies
The panel contains liquid crystals, which rearrange through electricity. Depending on the arrangement, they only let certain colors through. This creates the image we see. Many possible techniques are available, including: TN (twisted nematic), MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment), S-PVA (patterned vertical alignment), and S-IPS (in-plane switching).
TN is the most widespread, as it is both inexpensive to manufacture and has a very good response time. Furthermore, its power consumption is low. However, the downside is that one should only look at the device from the front. From the side, changes in contrast and color can be noticed.
Source: Marvin Raaijmakers [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
The panel consists of two crossed polarizers, with the liquid crystals in between. The incoming light from the backlight is now linearly polarized. This means: the direction and vibration of the light are largely constant. Thus, it can no longer pass through the second polarizer, as it is rotated by 90°.
Without voltage, the liquid crystals are arranged in a screw shape and “twist” the light. As a result, everything passes through the second polarizer, and the spot appears white. Under voltage, the crystals align vertically. The higher the voltage, the less light can escape, making the area increasingly darker. The only question remaining is how the colors are displayed. A pixel consists of 3 subpixels that use color filters for the basic colors red, green, and blue. Mixing these colors creates additional colors.
Source: LG Electronics
MVA panels offer a very good viewing angle and better contrast values. However, their response time is worse. Therefore, this variant is suitable for image editing but not for gaming. Furthermore, their power consumption is significantly higher as they require strong backlighting.
There are some technical similarities to the TN panels. There are still two polarizers and liquid crystals that twist when under voltage. However, their neutral position is already vertical. This means that without voltage, no light passes through, and the spot appears black. The second difference is that the pixels are subdivided into 3 more subpixels, achieving the advantages mentioned earlier. Additionally, there is S-MVA, which achieves a better response time through eight instead of three additional subpixels.
S-PVA has largely replaced regular PVA panels today. They represent a consistent further development of the (M)VA technology. They offer the same advantages, and their response time is significantly better. In return, their power consumption is even higher. Technically, there are hardly any differences.
Left: IPS panel under voltage Right: IPS panel in deactivated state 1 – backlight 2 – separation layer 3 – polarizing filter 4 – color layer 5 – liquid crystal layer 5 – electrodes. Source: cyberport.de – Panel Technologies.
S-IPS is superior to TN devices in many aspects. Colors are represented more intensely, and the viewing angle is wider. Their response time is slightly less but better than VA panels. In contrast, it is the other way around: better than TN, worse than VA. Their power consumption is higher than that of all other devices. The same applies to the price. In the mid-price range, S-IPS will be inferior to S-PVA panels. In the higher range, however, one can definitely consider them, depending on personal preferences.
As the name suggests, the liquid crystals are not screw-shaped but aligned in a plane. The polarizers are no longer crossed. Under voltage, the crystals lie parallel and horizontally, thus absorbing all light. The less power supply there is, the more the crystals rotate by 90° and allow more light to pass through.
The Backlight: LCD, TFT, LED, and OLED
When choosing a screen, one eventually confronts these three common abbreviations: LCD (liquid crystal display), TFT (thin-film transistor), and LED (light-emitting diode). Since LC stands for liquid crystals, only this method has been discussed in the previous text. TFT is a special variant of the LCD. They have now adapted so that there is no difference between them. In LED, light-emitting diodes are used instead of fluorescent tubes, which are smaller and more energy-efficient. However, since more modern LCD/TFT displays are equipped with light-emitting diodes, they are increasingly similar.
Thus, these three terms are usually only relevant for older devices. More important is the position of the lighting. If it is installed at the edge, this area shines particularly bright while it gets darker towards the center.
In the image: The OLED structure. Source: oled.at
In contrast, OLED (organic light-emitting diode) works differently. Between two electrodes lies a luminescent layer. Under voltage, electrons and defect electrons (positive charge carriers) move towards each other and recombine to form an exciton. This releases photons, generating light. For this to be visible, one of the electrodes must be transparent. Devices with OLED displays are more energy-efficient, have higher contrast, are cheaper to produce, and have significantly better response times. However, their greatest disadvantage is their short lifespan.
The Connection: VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Display Port
VGA is the analog connection and reduces image quality. The graphics card outputs a digital format, which has to be converted into analog because of VGA. The monitor then converts the analog back into the digital version. To save this trouble, DVI is more sensible, as it is a digital interface. This means that nothing needs to be converted.
HDMI can also be found on some devices. It is also a digital connection that additionally transmits audio signals, allowing these devices to have their own speakers. Accordingly, this connection is often found on modern televisions. The disadvantage of this connection is that it is very small and thus wears out more quickly.
Another option is Display Port. It offers the same functions as HDMI, and additionally allows USB signals to be transmitted. The speed is higher, production is cheaper, and it requires less electronics. This means that even flatter displays are needed. Apple’s Mini Display Port allows larger screens for notebooks.
When it comes to these connections, it is important to ensure the graphics card has such a connector. And one should be able to do without VGA by now.
3D and Curved Monitors
The 3D technology has existed for several years and has been very disappointing. Initially, one needed special glasses. Different images are displayed on the right and left eyes, from which the brain calculates a three-dimensional effect. Nowadays, there are variants without glasses, but these require an exact viewing angle, similar to Nintendo’s 3DS devices.
Currently, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Glasses absorb some light, the graphics card has to calculate everything twice, and the devices are very dependent on viewing angles. Problems may also arise in games, especially shooters. You see two crosshairs, and while software can generate a 3D crosshair from it, it may be considered cheating by the game, leading to bans. Additionally, the quality is not particularly good even with many devices. For this reason, 3D technology is currently just a gimmick.
Critically, curved monitors were received when they appeared. They are primarily aimed at relieving eye strain and improving spatial perception. You can find additional pros and cons in this article: Curved Technology: Is it Worth it to Invest in Curved PC Monitors?
On page 2, we will discuss response time, input lag, resolution, and refresh rate, among other things.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Final Fantasy XIV, the major relocation of the EU data center has been successful. The servers are reportedly located in Germany.
This went quite smoothly. Initially, 5-7 days were planned for the server relocation. Then it was estimated to take 34 hours. They finished a bit earlier. This morning, the servers in Europe came online.
Especially pleasing for us Germans: Initial tests show excellent pings. The servers are, if you can believe the tracers, located in Germany and are hosted by a company based in Düsseldorf, which has a branch in Frankfurt.
In Frankfurt, the servers of several providers are now located. The megaservers of The Elder Scrolls Online are also based here. Therefore, it could be that Final Fantasy chose this central location for Europe and Germany as well. Another popular location for Europe servers is, by the way, Amsterdam.
Until the Patch 3.1 at the beginning of November arrives, Final Fantasy XIV players will be able to enjoy the “Halloween” event. This is set to start on October 22.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , a new update is being released today following maintenance work. Therefore, you should also postpone the Weekly Nightfall Strike.
Bungie advises: Wait with the Nightfall Strike until the patch this evening
Today, on October 20th, at 7:00 PM our time, a patch for Destiny will be released for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. This patch is supposed to increase the rewards for the weekly Nightfall Strike. Therefore, Bungie advises against starting the week as usual with the Nightfall (to darken, as some say), but to wait until this evening when the patch has arrived.
Patch inbound! You’ll want to save your Nightfall until you download it. https://t.co/wrhxLFtISQ
Weekly Nightfall Strike on October 20th is Dust Palace
The weekly Nightfall Strike has been heavily criticized. It is considered too hard for the little loot it offers. Some have even (sacrilege!) suggested skipping it altogether. Let’s see if it will really be worth it with the patch this evening.
This week, it’s in the Dust Palace – which was previously only available for PlayStation players. Modifiers are:
Small Arms – Damage from primary weapons is increased
Chaff – Radar does not work
Berserk – This is the new Angry, enemies cannot be stopped even by hit effects
This week, the witch Balwûr is wreaking havoc in Oryx’s Courtyard with her Ogres as T3 Boss.
In the fight against her, the ground is full of poison. A safe zone spawns. The trick is to go with the group into these safe zones, kill Acolytes, which spawn further safe zones, and deal damage to Balwûr. Only in the safe zone can you inflict damage on Balwûr and the Acolytes.
At this point, we show you videos on how to tackle the current challenges this week. Well, we can do without an exciting video of someone pulling the patch, tears in our eyes.
Our friend Nexxos has videos on the Nightfall Strike Dust Palace and on Balwûr in German:
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An impressive cinematic from Demon Seals shows how expensive the production of trailers is, how long it takes, and what purpose they serve.
The last piece is missing
In the last few decades, storytelling has become an incredibly important element of games. Understandably, because it allows players to emotionally engage with events and develop a greater interest in the game world and thus in the game itself, which can almost directly translate into financial gain for the developers. It makes perfect sense that a lot of money is spent on capturing the story when a greater success is anticipated from it.
Such investments often produce impressive trailers, as is the case with Demon Seals. The following trailer cost nearly 2 million dollars to produce:
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From the initial planning to the completion of such a video, it takes 2 years in this case. This probably also explains why many studios can rarely respond to the request for “more cutscenes”, like in World of Warcraft, as the costs and duration of production are simply immense.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Heart of Thorns is at the starting line and the developers of Guild Wars 2 are talking a bit about the difficulties and amusing things of development.
Who needs players when there are turrets?
The first major expansion to Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is just around the corner for release. After the developers have tried to reveal their plans and goals for individual content in numerous blog posts over the past months, they have seemingly now moved on to discussing the more amusing aspects of development.
While the goal for the guild halls was obviously to create a retreat for all players where social content is the focus, the implementation of this goal was fraught with some difficulties.
Dara Potocska talks about a bug that caused turrets in the guild arenas to attack each other instead of the players. She filled the entire arena with turrets and waited to see what would happen. The summary: Nothing and no one survived.
Darren Mason reveals how much he immediately fell in love with the arena. “When I saw a fear turret pushing a player off the platform, I liked the arena instantly. It was hilarious.”
But it wasn’t always funny and easy. Link Hughes was under a lot of pressure from fans’ expectations after the guild hall feature was announced at PAX South. “The audience cheered for almost eight seconds. I was really excited and nervous myself.”
Whether all this excitement was worth it and whether the guild halls are now the feature that fans have been wishing for a long time, you can find out for yourself in three days, as the expansion Heart of Thorns will be released on October 23.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
