Steven Seagal had great success in the 1990s. However, despite playing the lead role in this movie, he was not seen for a large part of the runtime.
Which movie is it about? Under Siege is one of Steven Seagal’s most famous films. In English, it is titled Under Siege. It was released in 1992, the decade in which Seagal was probably at his most successful.
Under Siege is even the commercially most successful film of the actor. It grossed around 156 million US dollars worldwide (via boxofficemojo.com).
Ironically, Seagal plays the lead role, but he is only seen for about 41 minutes in the film, which has a runtime of 98 minutes.
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Steven Seagal in the trailer for his most successful film: Alarm Red
The Villain Steals the Show
Why does Seagal have so little screentime? Seagal plays Casey Ryback in the film, who must fend off an attack by terrorists on a US Navy ship. Due to this role, Seagal even made it into the game World of Warships. The main antagonist and Ryback’s opponent is William Strannix, played by none other than Tommy Lee Jones.
Compared to Seagal, Jones is seen much more often. According to Nick de Semlyen and his book “Last Action Heroes,” the reason was simple: Seagal was initially not really convinced by the project and doubted whether he should even sign on for it.
Thus, the villain and therefore Jones was given more space in the script. For his performance, Jones received much praise and his own career was boosted. Just a year later, he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film The Fugitive.
But despite his low screentime, the film was worth it for Seagal. Not only did it gross a lot of money worldwide, it made the actor even more popular. And ultimately, in Hollywood, it is not really important how long one is seen on screen.
Some major actors won their Oscar even for roles where they were only seen for a few minutes. A well-known example is Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs.
Seagal did not receive an Oscar for his portrayal in Under Siege. However, he went down in film history and is considered one of the great action stars of that time. Who is now considered the biggest action star was decided by viewers in a poll – read on MeinMMO to see who made it to first place.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For the upcoming alpha test of Ashes of Creation, the developers at Intrepid want to sell new access and address the criticism from the community.
What is going on with the alpha accesses of Ashes of Creation? When the ambitious MMORPG finally launches, it will adopt an unusual payment model with mandatory subscription, in-game shop, and no purchase price. Those who want to get in early must either be very lucky (and snag a free access somewhere) or invest a considerable amount of money.
During the first Kickstarter campaign in May 2017, which raised $3.271 million, interested parties could purchase crowdfunding packages worth up to $10,000. Back then, one needed to invest at least $400 for an alpha-1 access.
Plenty of gameplay for the mage class from Ashes of Creation:
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Ashes of Creation presents the mage archetype in 30 minutes
What is the current status? In September 2023, the developers announced that they would not sell pre-order packages for the time being starting January 2024 (via support.ashesofcreation.com).
This once again led to a lot of criticism, for example on Reddit. Studio head and creative director Steven Sharif responded to this and clarified (via ashesofcreation.com) that all three first-wave bundles would also include access to beta tests, each one month of subscription time, as well as in-game currency Embers worth $15.
The adjusted alpha packages for Ashes of Creation.
How does the community react to the changes? After there had always been a lot of enthusiasm and anticipation during the latest gameplay presentations regarding the progress of Ashes of Creation, one notices in the current discussions that many interested parties remain disappointed by the paid alpha accesses.
Shezzerino summarizes the fundamental problem succinctly (via Reddit): “You are still paying to test the alpha version of a game. That is ridiculous. […] If they do this, what will they do later?”
DoomRevenant claims to be a developer himself and writes (via Reddit): “From a developer’s perspective, all of this tells me that the developers are either completely incompetent and should not be in the industry, or, which is far more likely, they are just greedy and trying to commercialize the alpha of their game and use it as an excuse to entice whales, rather than actually using it for its intended purpose.”
GM_Jedi7 is also disappointed (via Reddit): “The fact that they even tried the first method should be a warning signal. That they are moving away from it is nothing to applaud.”
There are only two things I do not like. First, the health system of Ashes of Creation in PvP, and second, the way interested parties have been charged so far to test the MMORPG in alpha and beta rounds and give feedback. My recommendation, as always: Wait for the finished (then free outside of the subscription) game before spending money.
However, the truth is that Ashes of Creation would never exist in this ambitious form without continuous crowdfunding. The Kickstarter was over seven years ago. While other companies are laying off people left and right, Intrepid continues to hire – about 200 developers are now working on Ashes of Creation. Accordingly, the project burns through a considerable amount of dollars every month.
What would the alternative be? Western publishers have not ventured into such ambitious MMORPG projects for many years. The current consolidation phase is likely to have worsened this. When companies are willing to spend a lot of money on comparable games, it is the Tencents and Neteases, i.e., Asian megacorporations, that do not enjoy a very good reputation here.
Due to the regular developer updates and visible progress, I am also sure that Ashes of Creation is not a scam attempt, will be finished in the foreseeable future, and already has the potential to become a really good MMORPG.
With Baldur’s Gate 3, the Larian Studios team has won numerous awards and achieved what is arguably the biggest success of the development studio. However, for the head of the developer, Swen Vincke, a completely different title is the highlight of his career.
What is his highlight of the career? In an interview with BAFTA, Swen Vincke, the founder of Larian Studios, shared some details of his career so far. He also revealed a small secret about their current hit, Baldur’s Gate 3.
With all the awards that Baldur’s Gate 3 has won, one might think that this title is also the highlight of his career. But for Vincke, a completely different title is the milestone in his life. He reveals that the release of Divinity Original Sin is the highlight of his career.
You can see the successor to Divinity Original Sin in the following trailer:
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Divinity: Original Sin 2 Trailer
Divinity Original Sin made the studio’s dreams come true
Why was the release of Divinity Original Sin his highlight? Vincke explains that the title was the first major breakthrough for the development studio. With Divinity Original Sin, they won both the BAFTA Award and the Game Award.
Thanks to the success of the game, Larian Studios was finally able to do what they had wanted to do all along. The release changed everything for the developers, and they felt a sense of relief. You can see his full answer at 5:32 minutes in the following video:
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What is Divinity Original Sin? Divinity Original Sin is the fourth game in the Divinity series developed by Larian Studios. It is the prequel to all previous Divinity games and was released in 2014 for PC. The sequel is one of the best RPGs on Steam.
It shares many similarities with Baldur’s Gate 3. We travel through an open world with other players or NPCs with pre-made backstories. There are several decision-making options in NPC conversations that lead to different outcomes. Additionally, there are turn-based battles that require a lot of tactics.
However, there are also some differences: In Divinity Original Sin, there are no DnD dice that you know from Baldur’s Gate 3. Instead, hit chances and successes are indicated by percentages.
So-called ‘intimate scenes’ are repeatedly causing problems on video game sets. That’s why actresses are now demanding measures to improve working conditions.
What is the problem? Intimate scenes are no longer rare in video games. This includes consensual sex scenes, but also those depicting sexual violence.
Some actresses report unfavorable working conditions on such shoots. For instance, it is often announced at the last moment that intimate scenes are planned at all. This is due to the secrecy surrounding these projects, which is anything but ideal.
The actresses involved are caught off guard by the intimate scenes and are unable to prepare for them. This leads to psychological stress. The union Equity, which represents the interests of performers, is therefore demanding measures to improve the situation for everyone.
A game that did it better: Baldur’s Gate 3:
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Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3
“Disgusting” scenes, but without announcement
What do the actresses report? Jessica Jefferies worked as a motion capture performer for video games before she began working as a casting director. From her time as a performer, she recounts that she often did not find out until the shoot what she would have to do.
Once she learned on set that she was supposed to reenact a sexual assault in an explicit and, in her opinion, “disgusting” manner.
Jefferies found the scene completely unjustified and was also the only woman on set. So she refused to perform the scene and expressed her concerns. This had an impact; the scene was not filmed.
Another voice actress shares a story about a sex scene she knew nothing about:
I had to [vocally] adapt to the scene, and through the glass in the booth, the entire team, all men, was watching me. It was terrible … at that point, I had been in the gaming industry for a while and had never felt so shaken. What upset me about the situation was the fact that I was put in an embarrassing position, and no one thought to ask me if I was okay with it. And no one checked afterward if I was alright.
Are there positive examples? Yes, there are. Baldur’s Gate 3 is specifically mentioned as a game that handled intimate scenes in a model manner. The team took them seriously, and an intimacy coordinator was used on set. The role of the intimacy coordinator is new and is increasingly used in film. This is to ensure that processes in a sex scene are discussed first and all involved know exactly what is going to happen.
In the future, it should also become standard that actresses receive a precise script in advance, including the intimate scenes. This is intended to improve working conditions and prevent shocking experiences. The conditions in the video game industry are not always ideal for employees off-camera either – people who have worked for Blizzard report questionable practices.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The great rewards from World of Warcraft: Remix will soon disappear. Get everything you need now, as it may never return.
For almost 3 months, the event “WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria” has run, and aside from some frog issues at the beginning of the event, it can likely be considered a huge success for Blizzard and the community. You could not only level characters quickly but also grab a lot of cosmetics in the form of transmogs, mounts, or toys.
However, the event will end in a few hours – so this is your last chance to grab some rewards.
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WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria – All Features at a Glance
When does the event end? WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria ends for us on August 20th at 8 PM – that’s tomorrow evening. Until then, you should stock up on all the rewards you definitely want to have. Because it is still not known if there will be another “Remix: Pandaria,” and some of the rewards may remain exclusive for years.
How to quickly farm Bronze? Bronze is the primary resource to buy rewards in Remix. If you want to collect some last-minute Bronze, you should accept the daily quests for dungeons, scenarios, and raids and also play every available content in the group finder at least once (each a random scenario, heroic scenario, dungeon, and heroic dungeon).
If you still need more, join groups for the heroic raids – they are very easy and grant between 7,000 and 20,000 Bronze each.
If you still have Bronze, spend it now!
Aside from that, you can now also throw any gems you might still have into the “shredder” to obtain more Bronze. Legendary gems give 270 Bronze, epic 90, rare 30, and green 10. Since the gems will serve no purpose after the end of the event, you can easily shred them.
Also ask your friends if they have any leftover gems they can give you. Because the gems are tradable, your friends or guildmates can also send you some Bronze to snag a few more items. We have more tips for farming Bronze here.
Which rewards should you prioritize? That probably depends on your personal taste. If you have no preferences, you might want to buy the items that are exclusively offered in “Remix.” These are mainly:
The exclusive class sets and weapons.
The various mounts.
If you have already grabbed everything from those categories, you can of course buy the various tier sets or also toys that you just had no luck farming.
Even though it is a bit sad that WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria is now coming to an end, you can look forward to using the characters soon in “normal” WoW and then also jumping right into the new expansion The War Within.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In August 2024, the Spotlight Hours will be back in Pokémon GO. We will provide you with all the important information about the events.
What kind of event is it? The Spotlight Hours are small events lasting 60 minutes, taking place every Tuesday. During this time, a featured Pokémon will appear in high numbers.
In addition to the Pokémon, each event will have a bonus active for that time, which can grant you extra experience points, stardust, or candies.
All Spotlight Hours in August 2024
When do the Spotlight Hours take place? The Spotlight Hours occur every Tuesday, starting at 6:00 PM and running until 7:00 PM. You can find out the dates for the various Pokémon and bonuses in August 2024 in the following table.
Which Pokémon is in the spotlight? Rotomurf, the Ground Pokémon from Generation 5, will be featured during the Spotlight Hour on August 6. It has an evolution: Stalobor.
What bonus is active? During this Spotlight Hour, you will receive double the amount of experience points for catching Pokémon, regardless of which Pokémon you catch.
Is the event worth it? With the evolution of Rotomurf, Stalobor, you will obtain a very strong Ground attacker that can also be found in the list of strongest Pokémon in Pokémon GO. Therefore, you can take good advantage of this event to catch a few strong specimens.
The Shadow variant of Rotomurf is already available as well. You can thus use the Spotlight Hour to gather some candies for it.
Can you catch Shiny Rotomurf? Yes, you can also find the Shiny variant of Rotomurf if you’re lucky.
Spotlight Hour on August 13
Which Pokémon is in the spotlight? On this day, you can encounter Liliep during the Spotlight Hour. The Pokémon is from Generation 3 and has the types Rock and Grass. You can evolve it into Wielie.
What bonus is active? If you catch Pokémon during this Spotlight Hour, you will receive double the amount of candies for them. The bonus applies not only to Liliep but to all Pokémon you catch.
Is the event worth it? While Wielie is still just about in the top 100 of the Super League, it doesn’t matter in the other leagues. Unfortunately, Liliep and its evolution are not worth using in raids either.
The catch bonus could be interesting here, especially if you have Pokémon collected from field research rewards that you’ve been waiting for this kind of bonus.
Can you catch Shiny Liliep? Yes. If you’re lucky, you may encounter the Shiny variant of Liliep during the Spotlight Hour.
Spotlight Hour on August 20
Which Pokémon is in the spotlight? Menki, the monkey-like Pokémon from Generation 1, will be in the spotlight during the Spotlight Hour on August 20. The Pokémon has the Fighting type, and it can evolve into Rasaff and then into Epitaff.
Epitaff has the Fighting type as well as the Ghost type.
What bonus is active? If you transfer Pokémon during this Spotlight Hour, you will receive double the amount of candies for them. This bonus can be very useful if you’ve accumulated Pokémon for such a bonus or if your Pokémon box is full.
You can also pre-mark Pokémon with a tag before this Spotlight Hour to make it easier and quicker to send them during the event.
Is the event worth it? For use in raids, Menki and its evolutions are unfortunately not very strong. However, its final evolution, Epitaff, can show its full strength in the battle league.
On the ranking of PvPoke, Epitaff is ranked 53rd in the Master League and even 27th in the Ultra League. If you want to get the most out of Epitaff, you should use it in the Super League, where it ranks 3rd and is only surpassed by 2 other Pokémon.
Additionally, the bonus of double Transfer Candies is very strong. Therefore, you shouldn’t miss this Spotlight Hour.
Can you catch Shiny Menki? Yes, you can also find Shiny Menki if you’re lucky.
Spotlight Hour on August 27
Which Pokémon is in the spotlight? Magnetilo, the Electric and Steel Pokémon from Generation 1, will be the focus of this Spotlight Hour. It can evolve into Magneton and then into Magnezone.
What bonus is active? If you evolve Pokémon during this Spotlight Hour, you will receive double the amount of experience points for it.
Is the event worth it? If you evolve Magnetilo into its final form, Magnezone, you can look forward to a strong Electric attacker for your raid teams. Its Shadow variant is even stronger. During this event, you can also collect a lot of candies for it.
For use in the battle leagues, Magnetilo and its evolutions are not worth it. You should rely on other Pokémon for this.
If you’ve accumulated many Pokémon that you want to evolve, you can also use the event to double the experience points gained from it.
Can you catch Shiny Magnetilo? Yes, Magnetilo is already available as a Shiny Pokémon in the game. With a bit of luck, you may encounter it in this form.
What do you think about the Spotlight Hours in August 2024? Are there any that particularly interest you? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments and discuss it with other trainers here. If you want to know what else is coming up this month, take a look at our overview of events in August 2024 in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Twitch streamers Mowky and AnniTheDuck are in a verbal clash. Once they were close friends. Mowky even appeared in an ARD documentary to explain to everyone how great AnniTheDuck is. But now, both are shooting at each other in a series of YouTube videos and statements. In a new statement from 18.08, Mowky takes the next round, with support from Rezo as an authority on such matters.
It broke apart in May 2024. Mowky said she had suffered for 5 years under the friendship. AnniTheDuck had launched a defaming campaign against her. She no longer wanted to have anything to do with “this person”.
AnniTheDuck stated that many accusations from Mowky were false, as she was accused of attending sex parties. Additionally, screenshots of conversations were edited unfavorably to portray AnniTheDuck as extremely heartless and cold.
The conflict surrounding AnniTheDuck, who had previously maintained a flawless image, began in May 2024 with the statement from her former partner Reved:
Start video
Reved explains on Twitch how much she suffered in the relationship with Anni The Duck
Mowky talks about an embarrassing deflowering party
This is what Mowky says now: In a new, nearly 40-minute video, Mowky responds again.
Essentially, she reaffirms her version of events and accuses AnniTheDuck of having simply lied in some instances. Mowky claims she never threw a chair – this accusation is only meant to portray Mowky as impulsive and uncontrolled. The accusation is untrue.
In other instances, AnniTheDuck contradicted points that Mowky never made. No one spoke of a “sex party” or “orgy”.
Mowky clarifies: The event was about a party in honor of a person who worked for AnniTheDuck and who lost her virginity before the celebration. This defloration was to be celebrated at the party. Even Anni herself ironically referred to it as a “terrible idea”.
The party was, however, extremely uncomfortable for the person involved, as Mowky explains, supported by testimonies:
This one person knew nothing about this party. It was decided for this person that they would suddenly be at this surprise party concerning their virginity. This person was supposed to sit down and participate.
Mowky (here in green) shares a screenshot of a conversation about the party with an employee of Anni.
AnniTheDuck also said she only spoke with “close friends” about Mowky’s mental state. This is untrue; they discussed Mowky’s health details with people who were completely strangers until then, which caused irritation given that such personal details of a third person were discussed so openly.
Mowky accuses her former friend of having completely ignored many accusations against her, such as mistreating the cats. Other accusations, such as that Mowky sexually harassed multiple men, are simply untrue. None of the men felt that way. Anni, as an uninvolved third party, simply brought up and disseminated such a “serious accusation”.
Rezo serves as a spokesperson for anonymous sources, the credibility of which he has verified in a conversation.
Rezo adds more credibility to Mowky’s statement
This is what makes the video special: Unlike AnniTheDuck, Mowky can present several witnesses who confirm her view, including former employees of AnniTheDuck.
As a special gag, she enlisted the streamer Rezo to read statements from participants who wish to remain anonymous.
Rezo says he spoke to the people for about an hour each beforehand and considers their statements plausible. Since his videos against the CDU, Rezo is seen as what comes closest to an investigative journalist in the German influencer scene. Rezo repeatedly emphasizes that he was not present during the described incidents and does not intend to evaluate the statements of the witnesses.
Mowky repeatedly underscores that the dispute is not about Mowky vs. AnniTheDuck, but that a large number of people have expressed negative opinions about AnniTheDuck, yet she has only reacted to Mowky. This does not reflect the reality of the conflict.
Mowky brings in another expert when it comes to an allegedly manipulated audio recording in AnniTheDuck’s latest video.
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Mowky: “Hopefully Anni doesn’t make another video again”
What impression does the video leave? Mowky seemed to have always been very burdened by the topic. For her first major accusatory video, she took months to prepare, emphasizing how difficult it was for her.
Once again, you can feel how little joy it brings her to delve into individual sentences and statements so detailed.
In the end, she states that she does not understand why AnniTheDuck made another attack with so many easily refutable statements. Mowky hopes this topic is now over.
I hope that Anni finally addresses these accusations. I hope she doesn’t make another video where she only addresses a fraction of the accusations or completely ignores them or distorts and changes the accusations so that one doesn’t grasp which accusations it is actually about.
Currently, a new era of “exposings” has begun in Germany and the USA: Some of the biggest streamers and YouTubers are under criticism. In the USA, for example, DrDisrespect and Mr.Beast have been caught. In Germany, this exposing has gained a unique dynamic because the avalanche started rolling through a small donation: How a €2.50 donation caused chaos in German Twitch and led to the careers of 2 influencers ending
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Even with a luxury electric car, an old solution helps when almost nothing works: “The first step of a technician”
The cover image is a symbolic image.
What kind of electric car is this story about? The “hero” of this experience, where its battery, toxic charging stations along the way, and ultimately its reset function play the main roles, is a Rivian R1S. This is a seven-seater electric SUV that costs at least €70,000.
The owner of the Rivian and narrator of this self-experienced tech horror story is Marco Arment, a software developer and podcaster. In an episode of “Accidental Tech“, he recounts how a journey through the sprawling border region of the USA and Canada almost turned into a nightmare.
Start video
In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?
Weak performance, but simple solution with the electric car
In the middle of nowhere, it happened: just as he was leaving a rest area where he had breathed new life into the struggling batteries through fast charging. A warning lit up on the display, something was wrong with the battery. At the same time, acceleration ceased, the powerful SUV was crawling along the road – several hours from home or a technician.
What did Marco Arment do? Lacking any real alternative, he resorted to the oldest trick of all PC users – even as a programmer with thousands of hours of experience.
Turn it off and on again. That is the first step of any technician for diagnostics.
Because ultimately, such an electric car is a computer on wheels.
So just turn the “ignition” off and on again? No, because shutting down the engine and its systems corresponds more to a “standby” than a “shutdown” in modern cars. To really reset the Rivian and reboot it, he had to press a button on the steering wheel as well as a hidden one on the roof of the car. And it worked.
After the car restarted after about five minutes, the engine delivered the expected performance again – without any fuss or noticeable problems while driving.
Did the problem reappear? Yes, unfortunately. During the trip, the bug occurred after each charging session. Thus, there were a few more resets. Marco Arment and his Rivian survived the trip well – and hopefully, the problem has since been resolved by an auto mechanic.
Can such a reboot also help solve problems with other E-cars? Yes, that is a possibility. And as long as you have the opportunity to safely perform such a hard reset, it is probably worth a try. With Tesla, you can either just restart the screen or turn off the car via the touch panel and reboot it. You can read here at Tesla how to do this.
Since 2019, it has been clear that the developers of Elder Scrolls Online are working on a new AAA MMORPG with a new IP. But what information is known about the project five years later? How should a new online role-playing game from the ESO team look like? This is exactly what the community is currently discussing.
What is known for sure about the new project from Zenimax?
In August 2018, Zenimax officials first sought to strengthen their new project with a new IP, meaning an unknown brand.
In May 2019, Zenimax CEO Matt Firor confirmed that the project is intended to be a AAA game with a new engine. The game was at that time in pre-production. By the way, this is still the status that Zenimax’s official recruitment page presents to the outside world (via zenimaxonline.com).
In November 2022, Creative Director Ben Jones stated during the “Product Builders Podcast” (via YouTube) that 200 developers are now working on the ambitious project.
The Elder Scrolls Online – Gold Road in the announcement trailer
Like Elder Scrolls Online, but different
What is the community currently discussing? On Reddit, there is an interesting thread this week where MMORPG fans are discussing the known status quo of the Zenimax MMORPG and expressing their wishes and concerns.
Thread creator Fit-Bass-7238 wonders why the project has been in development for so long, but there have been no official updates, insider reports, or leaks in recent years. Instead, there have been all sorts of rumors about a sci-fi MMO, an Elder Scrolls Online 2, or a new MMORPG for Star Wars (even though two out of three would not fit the “new IP”).
Under the post, there is a colorful bouquet of comments; here’s a selection:
Excuse_my_GRAMMER writes (via Reddit): “Zenimax doesn’t make an announcement until they are 6 months from release. But keep in mind that the studio now belongs to Microsoft, so who knows if it will even be released or if the whole thing will be rearranged.”
DashboardGuy206 summarizes the thoughts of various fans (via Reddit): “ESO, but set in the Star-Wars universe, with better combat and a less intrusive cash shop, that is literally my ideal game. That would be insane.”
Dystopiq places his hopes on gamescom 2024 (via Reddit): “Gamescom is just around the corner. Maybe we’ll learn something there.”
Revave has a firsthand update (via Reddit): “I had the chance to talk to Rich Lambert at the ESO Tavern, where he briefly mentioned that they are still working on the new game and some of the new hires have been assigned to this project, if I understood him correctly.”
How does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz assess the status quo? First, I can emphasize what Revave says. Whenever I have had Zenimax CEO Matt Firor in front of the microphone in the past years, my closing question was aimed at the studio’s new project, and even though he was not allowed or willing to share details, he confirmed each time that they were still working on it.
The “rumors” about ESO 2 and Star Wars I consider nonsense. It has been communicated too often and clearly from different directions that the project is intended to be a new IP. Whether there will be new information at gamescom 2024, I do not know.
It is clear to me, however, that Elder Scrolls Online continues to run successfully to this day. Zenimax is likely under no compelling pressure to present the new project as soon as possible. Additionally, developing a new engine for an ambitious project takes a lot of time. Personally, I therefore expect only an official announcement next year or the year after.
The X-Men have shown many abilities in their long history. Some are stronger than others. However, there are those that are almost useless and that no one would really want. We present to you 10 of them here.
How was this list created? This list shows mutants and their powers from the X-Men and Marvel universe. It is not only about fundamentally useless abilities but also abilities with significant drawbacks.
Characters like Long Neck with a long neck or Jazz, who is just blue, we leave out. If you are missing a specific character from the list, let us know in the comments.
More from the X-Men can be found in this series:
Start video
X-Men 97 – Trailer for the new animated series on Disney+
10. Rogue
First appearance: 1981 in Avengers Annual#10
Rogue is a well-known character in the X-Men universe and belongs to the main group of mutants. Basically, her abilities sound really good: She can fly, has superhuman strength and reflexes.
However, her main power is the absorption of abilities and strength from her opponents. For this, her skin only needs to touch the skin of the opponent. This means she can’t have contact with friends and family in many comics, as she can’t always control the intensity of the absorption (via Marvel.com).
9. Glob Herman
First appearance: 2001 in New X-Men#117
Glob Herman has invisible skin, but just the skin. His body is made of a special wax that makes his skin transparent, but not his organs and bones. He can ignite himself without suffering any harm.
His resistances are also increased, and he can withstand explosions significantly better than others. The major drawback of his ability: In battle, opponents can always aim directly at his organs (via Marvel.com).
8. Maggott
First appearance: 1997 in Uncanny X-Men#345
Maggott has no normal metabolism. He cannot eat. Instead, he has two slug monsters named Eany and Meany. They can eat almost any material and provide him with energy in his body.
This allows him to gain more strength and endurance than a normal human. The problem is, if he is separated from his slugs for a certain period, he dies, as he has no digestive system (via Marvel Database).
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
While survival games differ in many respects, players often make the same mistakes, regardless of which genre representative they are playing.
In our list, we show you 5 typical mistakes that players of survival games are sure to know. Before the start of your next game, you should try to avoid these mistakes so that you can successfully navigate your adventure.
Can you pass down your survival games? A user asked on Steam:
Start video
A user asks Valve if he can bequeath his many games on Steam – they reply
Forgotten food
A really common mistake that has probably happened to everyone at some point is forgetting food at home in one’s own base. Depending on the game, the impact may be different, but usually, you only realize the mishap when it’s too late. The short farming trip quickly turns into an adventure, and the way back suddenly becomes difficult.
Not paying attention to day and night cycle
While everything often seems nice and harmonious during the day, the tougher enemies typically surface at night. Those who venture out in the afternoon or evening are often caught off guard by the night and face opponents. It only gets worse if you forget the torches.
At the beginning of every game, resources, space, and chests are limited. If one picks up every stone during exploration, they quickly end up with full pockets and spend more time in the inventory than exploring. It’s bad when the inventory is full of important items, but an even more crucial one drops, leading to a difficult choice.
Even in the base, the collected items can be really annoying. Many games allow you to organize everything yourself. If you don’t start doing this right away, you’ll make a big mistake at the beginning. The longer you refuse to organize, the longer it will take you to search later in the game.
Continues on the next page.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Since its launch, the Epic Games Store has attracted attention with free games. Among them were top titles like GTA V. The CEO now explains how this model of giving away games pays off when competing with Steam.
What is the deal with free games? Every week, there are new free titles that are given away to users in the Epic Games Store. Sometimes there are even several per week.
These often include indie games, but sometimes also bigger names like GTA 5 or Civilization 6. Since these offers started, the question arises of how this model is financially viable for Epic Games. After all, there are costs involved. In the first nine months since its launch in December 2018, the company spent about 11.6 billion US dollars on free games.
And this has been going on for six years now. The CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, has now explained how the model works.
Start video
CIVILIZATION VI – Launch Trailer
Free games are cheap advertising
What does the CEO say? In a conversation with the press, the CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, provided insights into how the business with free games works. According to him, it is a “very economical” program that primarily aims to attract new customers.
Normally, a lot of money would be invested in advertising that runs on Facebook or through Google ads. Instead of investing the budget this way, Epic prefers to give it directly to the game developers – in exchange for free copies of their titles.
Tim Sweeney further elaborates:
For about a quarter of the cost of acquiring users through Facebook ads or Google search ads, we can pay a game developer a significant amount of money for the right to distribute their game to our users, and we can bring new users to the Epic Games Store at a very low price.
This approach appears to be cheaper than traditional advertising methods. And even the developers themselves benefit in the long run:
Developers who give away free games actually see an increase in sales of their paid games in the store, simply because their free game increases visibility. This goes so far that many developers, who are about to release a new game, collaborate with us to enable a limited-time release of a free game just to draw attention to their next title.
Thus, the model seems to work well for all parties involved – including the players who receive free games this way.
Is there only positive feedback? No, because Tim Sweeney also notes that not all investments have paid off. In particular, games that have been released exclusively in the Epic Games Store did not always perform well, but cost a lot of money at the same time. By the end of 2023, Epic Games also had to lay off a good portion of their employees, 830 people.
In the fight against strong competition like Steam, the free games program is a strong argument. Nevertheless, it seems that Valve’s platform is hardly to be displaced from the top. On MeinMMO, we have an overview of the best platforms for gamers – and clarify which is the best.
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Working on the beach sounds really nice, but according to a study, it can jeopardize the work-life balance.
The thought of working with a laptop on the beach while the sun sparkles on the water and you can hear the waves is tempting for many. The desire to escape the office routine and work from a relaxing place seems attractive at first glance.
A new work model is a workation, which is becoming increasingly popular among location-independent workers. With this work model, you can combine work (Work) and vacation (Vacation) and, according to asana.com, it is supposed to be a good remedy against burnout.
However, a recent survey indicates that home office and mobile working can often lead to more stress and overtime.
Start video
Chef ruined his company in 59 seconds on Twitch – What happened to him?
Overtime is pre-programmed
What disadvantages are highlighted? A survey by the HR consultancy Hays among 8,301 professionals and employers has shown (via People Management) that more than half of British employees work more hours at home than before the pandemic. Specifically, 52% of respondents stated that they have longer working hours when working from home.
It turned out:
A quarter of this group works more than 10 additional hours weekly
41% put in between 5 and 10 more hours per week
Working during vacation
What else does the study say? The study also shows that 40% of respondents have worked during their vacation in the last 12 months.
Among mid-level employees, this percentage is even 52%. This suggests that leisure time and home office cannot be separated. Constant availability is already a problem nowadays – making it difficult to truly relax.
What is suggested? Simon Winfield, Managing Director of Hays UK & Ireland, says that employers transitioning to a hybrid work model need to consider the additional stresses on their employees (via genbeta). “Some employees may continue to work constantly or part of the week from home, so employers need to examine how they allocate their time to avoid having to be constantly reachable,” emphasizes Winfield.
In summary, according to the study, working on the beach may provide less of the desired dream and may instead represent an increased stress factor as the boundaries between work and leisure become increasingly blurred. It’s probably also just a matter of how you handle it yourself. What do you think? Another study claims: Some gamers are just better than you, and there’s nothing you can do about it
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With a hotfix on August 15, Blizzard is adjusting Diablo 4 . A strong build of the Sorceress, the “Lightning Spear” build could no longer handle the servers. A certain aspect of the build now deals more damage but occurs less frequently. One of the leading Sorceress players says he has lost half of his damage.
What kind of build is this? The build is called “Lightning Spear Sorcerer”; it only became possible in Season 5 of Diablo 4.
With this build, you shoot lightning spears that bounce off yourself and enemies. They become stronger as they do so. At the same time, you use Frozen Orb to reset the cooldown on Lightning Spears.
The build was made possible because the legendary aspect “Splintering Energy” was revised with the current season.
Start video
Diablo 4: Secret change brings more loot for everyone who likes to grind
Much fewer lightning bolts in Diablo 4
This is what Blizzard says: In hotfix 4 from August 15, the “Aspect of Splintering Energy” has specifically been changed (via blizzard). It could cause problems when used in conjunction with the Amulet “Shattered Winterglass”.
Damage increases from 25-50% to 50-80%
But Splintering Energy will now jump to additional enemies less frequently
In a future update, this will also be noted in the tooltip description
Blizzard says:
In rare cases, this aspect together with the Amulet “Shattered Winterglass” could lead to issues with server performance. To address this, we are reducing the frequency with which it jumps to additional enemies and increasing the damage to compensate for this. Additionally, the amount of frozen orbs that can be thrown from summons when using “Shattered Winterglass” has been adjusted for these rare cases.
So the change specifically targets the strong synergy of the Lightning Spear build.
What was the problem? The sheer number of spears flying around apparently causes lags and even server crashes, as PC Gamer reports.
One of the leading users of the build, Mekuna, tells PC Gamer: He has lost about 50% of his damage. He could previously kill trash enemies in 2-3 minutes; now it takes him 7 minutes.
Normal players shouldn’t notice this, but only when pushing the limits, one realizes it, he says.
Currently, the Pokémon World Championships 2024 are taking place in Honolulu, Hawaii. Only the best of the best compete against each other. To increase his chances, a player attempted to cheat. However, it ended embarrassingly for him.
What kind of tournament is this? The Pokémon World Championships are the highlight of every season. For a year, trainers can prove themselves in various championships. Those who collect enough points have the chance to compete at the World Championships for a prize pool of up to $50,000.
There are four categories in which players compete:
Pokémon Video Game (Scarlet and Violet)
Pokémon TCG (Trading Card Game)
Pokémon UNITE
Pokémon GO
Here you can see the trailer for the said event:
Start video
Pokémon World Championship 2024: Trailer for the Event in Hawaii
Caught red-handed
With a tempting prize pool of $50,000, a player likely couldn’t resist trying to help his luck. On Saturday evening, a video of a TCG player surfaced that clearly shows him cheating.
You can watch the misdeed for yourself here:
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In the video, you can see the player on the left searching through his discard pile, which is always allowed. However, he then takes a card out, hides it under the table, and quietly adds it to his hand. And that is, of course, completely against the rules.
It must have been a match during or after round 4.
The video is believed to be from the match between Luke Parkes (UK) and Carlos Eduardo Ruiz (Mexico). And indeed, it turns out that Ruiz was later disqualified.
Whether the cheating was noticed on-site or the disqualification was only issued because of the video is currently unknown.
The community is particularly shocked by a small detail. Carlos Ruiz is using the playmat of a “Pokémon Professor”.
Pokémon Professors at tournaments are volunteers who make such events possible. As referees, they are responsible for ensuring that rules are followed, among other things.
If Ruiz truly is a “Pokémon Professor”, that would only make his cheating even sadder. A user writes on X: “As a Pokémon Professor, I can say if this man is actually a professor, he does not represent the values of our community. What a shame…”
Many agree and are calling for harsh consequences:
“Wow, if this is a professor, he should get a lifetime ban” (GoatmanO, via X)
“There should be a rule that you can’t shuffle your deck while your opponent takes their turn, lol. This has been going on for far too long.” (D0ubl3St3P, via X)
The MMORPG New World by Amazon is taking a worrying turn on Steam in 2024: There is simply nothing happening in the online role-playing game anymore. Since October 2023, it has lost 10 to 35% of its players every month. It has been a downhill slide for 10 months. Now a turnaround is supposed to come.
What is so worrying? Drought periods are normal in MMOs and MMORPGs. After a major release, it is expected that player numbers will decline. But usually, such “drought periods” only last for 3 or 4 months, then a new update comes and brings back at least some of the players. However, New World has been in a drought period for 10 months now:
New World has lost 93% of its players from October 2023 to now in August 2024.
In every single month, there was an average of 34% to 10% fewer players on Steam compared to the previous month.
New World simply cannot stop this constant bleeding of player numbers.
Start video
New World Aeternum: Trailer for the open beta in September 2024
No other major MMORPG performs as poorly on Steam as New World
Why is this so unusual? While there are also “drought periods” in comparable MMORPGs on Steam, they last a maximum of 5 months and are significantly less drastic:
The Elder Scrolls Online had 6 “good months” since October 2023, where player numbers rose, and 4 “bad months,” where player numbers fell.
Final Fantasy XIV had 5 “good months” since October 2023, where player numbers increased, and 5 “bad” months, where they fell.
Even Black Desert, which seems to be at the end of its life cycle, had 3 “good months” alongside 7 “bad” months.
But New World actually achieves 10 bad months in a row.
Especially bad: All the other players listed here have console versions or other launchers, but New World is only playable via Steam.
The MMORPG Ashes of Creation is considered by many to be the most exciting project among new online role-playing games developed in the West. The studio has now presented its plans for 2024 and 2025. Gradually, the new MMORPG is expected to get underway: a three-phase Alpha Two is planned, which will take the MMORPG to the next level.
These are the plans for Ashes of Creation for Alpha Two: A year-long Alpha Two is set to launch for Ashes of Creation, which will be open without an NDA. This would mark a shift into a new phase of development where players can openly talk about and play the MMORPG. This Alpha is expected to come in 3 cycles:
Starting from October 25, the first players will be able to access – The servers will be open for testing on several weekends
From December 20, the Alpha will be expanded and servers will then be open five days a week
From May 1, 2025, there will be persistent servers that are online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This information was shared by the team during a livestream on Twitch on August 16.
Start video
Ashes of Creation shows the fight against a giant cyclops
What is known about the Alpha? The Alpha is expected to be significantly expanded compared to Alpha One. It will take place on 3 servers in North America and 3 servers in Europe.
Players are still cautious
How is this being discussed? It is being discussed controversially: among some users, the excitement outweighs the concerns about finally being able to play and talk about “their MMORPG”.
However, there are also some criticisms:
The persistent Alpha starting in May 2025 is still quite a ways off – based on previous information, supporters of the project felt that Alpha 2 would begin as a persistent Alpha. In reality, however, they will have to wait another 9 months.
Others speculate about a postponement of this “Persistent Alpha” in May 2025 to an even later date. They believe that this phase of the game will be perceived as the release of the game in a soft launch and thus must meet high quality standards. It is expected that the phases of Alpha Two will be postponed again.
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Others criticize the high price for Alpha Two access. The packages cost between $100 and $120. It is also criticized that no additional bonuses are linked to the Alpha access. One pays $120 to be part of the first wave and has no advantages at the later launch.
A short but expensive scene in a thriller with Tom Cruise was filmed over 20 years ago without any special effects.
Which movie is it? A scene in the thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) by Cameron Crowe, starring Tom Cruise, is one of the most expensive scenes in film history – and this is despite it only lasting 30 seconds and showing Tom Cruise just running around. There were no special effects, no action, and no stunts performed by Cruise.
An empty Times Square for a whopping 1 million euros
What kind of scene is it? The film Vanilla Sky, which also stars Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, David Lee, and Kurt Russell, opens directly with the expensive scene. Tom Cruise, playing the wealthy playboy David Aames, steps out of his luxury sports car at the famous Times Square in New York.
But at this location, which usually overflows with crowds and traffic, there is absolute emptiness. Alone, with not a soul in sight, Tom Cruise runs around, increasingly panicking.
Start video
German trailer for Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise
How was the scene created? The team had to work closely with the city of New York to obtain permits for the shoot. To close Times Square for this shot, the film crew had to dig deep into their pockets.
The cost for this three-hour shooting time amounted to a staggering 1 million euros against a budget of 62 million euros (68 million US dollars). The closure was approved on the condition that filming strictly took place within the agreed timeframe (3 hours).
Despite this limitation, everything went so smoothly that the team even finished early. Tom Cruise then continued to run through the deserted streets to capture a few more good shots.
Why was this choice made? Vanilla Sky is a reinterpretation of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes by Alejandro Amenábar. In the original film, there is a similar opening scene where Eduardo Noriega walks alone through the empty streets of Gran Vía in Madrid.
The creators of Vanilla Sky apparently decided to take up this iconic scene and recreate it in New York – deliberately avoiding CGI to maintain the authenticity of the scene.
And it paid off.
At the box office, the film made 203 million US dollars (approximately 184 million euros). Other films like 28 Days Later and I Am Legend have also showcased empty urban settings. Tom Cruise is known for giving his all in his films, performing his own stunts. He wanted so badly for a film to be a hit in 1996 that he gave up his salary
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny 2 there are many different ornaments for Exo armors and weapons. Three of these ornaments are so rare that you probably haven’t even seen them. We will show you which relics from the past we mean.
Which ornaments are they? Either you have them as a stone-age veteran still in your collection, or you have seen them fleetingly somewhere. If not, they should be completely foreign to you, as these three ornaments come from the faction battles from the early days of Destiny 2. These are ornaments for the following Exo armors:
Emblem of Alpha Lupi (Titan Chest Armor)
Weakness Radar (Hunter Headgear)
Eye of Another World (Warlock Headgear)
Ornament ‘Glowing Hearth’Ornament ‘Predestination’Ornament ‘Gaze into Other Worlds’
The ornaments, which are styled after the extinct factions, could be earned for free at that time if you put your heart into it. Unfortunately, there is now no way to obtain them anymore, and those who own them are considered stone-age guardians of the first hours.
Three ornaments that no one can get anymore
How did the event work? The faction battles event lasted a week each time and was rolled out in the DLCs ‘Curse of Osiris’ and ‘Warmind’. There were three dates each season where these battles took place. Players could then choose one of the three factions to fight for.
Start video
Bungie shows the future of Destiny 2 after The Final Shape in the new trailer
Choices included the War Cult of the Future, the New Monarchy, and the Dead Orbit. Once you had chosen a faction, you just had to collect tokens through activities like the Crucible, Vanguard strikes, raids, or patrols. Once you had collected enough, you could secure legendary armor ornaments, weapons, catalysts, and exotic ornaments from the chosen faction.
What happened to the ornaments? Unfortunately, they were shoved into the vault, and Bungie has ensured with its seasons that they are truly gone and will never return. The reason for this lies in Season 14. Lakshmi, the head of the War Cult of the Future, opened a Vex portal in the Last City in Season 14 and caused problems.
In this action, she died, and as a consequence of the events, the Last City and the Vanguard decided to banish the Dead Orbit as well as the New Monarchy and the rest of the War Cult of the Future. Since the factions are no longer officially active in the Last City, it is logically also impossible to have faction battles anymore.
Nevertheless, these relics are a great reminder of times when Bungie could show that they could create more events than just the Solstice, Halloween, and the Winter Event.
It is time again for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in two Minutes.” We summarize the most important news about the best genre in the world for you. Look forward toimpressions from Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, an upcoming open beta for New World: Aeternum, a packed roadmap for RuneScape, and much more.
The time is coming soon – here once again the new trailer for WoW – The War Within:
Start video
WoW: The War Within – Shadows Beneath the Surface
Middle-earth celebrates the Harvest Festival
This is what happened with the major MMORPGs:
In the latest episode of WoWCast, there were some exciting news about WoW: The War Within. The highest level of the Depths is said to resemble the difficulty of the Mage Tower. Additionally, there will be open-world objectives for the Great Treasure Chamber.
For Lost Ark, the new content update titled “The Calm Before the Storm” was released on August 14, 2024. Included: a new gold currency and an island with a solo dungeon.
The developers of Black Desert are hosting an exclusive PvP event, in which the top 100 players of the Solares Arena will participate. You can find all information on naeu.playblackdesert.com.
With an update, the developers of Tarisland implemented new levels for the Arcane-Realm Floor Challenge. There were also adjustments to the difficulty level, bug fixes, and more (via X).
Until August 27, 2024, an open beta is running for EverQuest II, testing the feature “The Immeasurable Menagerie.” Only players with access to the expansion “Ballads of Zimara” can participate (via everquest2.com).
This summer, a new dungeon called “The Dragon and the Storm” is set to be released for The Lord of the Rings Online, which you can tackle solo, as a duo, or in a 6-player group. The testing phase is currently running on the Bullroarer server (via forums.lotro.com).
Since August 14, 2024, Update 41.1 is live on the servers of The Lord of the Rings Online – you can find the official German patch notes at lotro.com. A current highlight: the Harvest Festival, which runs until September 3, 2024.
For Dungeons and Dragons Online, the update “Magic of Myth Drannor” was released on August 14, 2024. It takes you to the namesake ruins, where new quests and rewards await you (via ddo.com).
From August 16 to 25, 2024, anyone interested can download and play the MMORPG Fractured Online for free. More information on fracturedmmo.com.
The team responsible for RuneScape has released a large roadmap for the planned innovations until June 2025 (via YouTube). Later in 2025, a new area expansion will also be released. But see for yourself:
The new roadmap of RuneScape until June 2025.
This is what happened with MMORPGs in development:
The MMORPG Legend of Ymir is now said to be released worldwide for PC and mobile next year.
Not actually an MMORPG, but a game where you can develop MMORPGs, that is Let’s Build a Dungeon, which has been announced for Steam.
Thus, we have summarized the most important things that have recently happened in the world of MMORPGs.
What have you been excited about this week? What have you been annoyed about? Let us know in the comments. By the way, there was a special from MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz in the past few days, who listed some killer features that no new online role-playing game should be without: These 10 amazing features should be included in every MMORPG
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
