Colony of Gamers

Colony of Gamers http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/ This is a discussion forum powered by vBulletin. To find out about vBulletin, go to http://www.vbulletin.com/ . en Fri, 24 May 2013 05:25:08 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/images/misc/rss.jpg Colony of Gamers http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/ Dead Island Devs Announce Dying Light, a Next-Gen Zombie Shooter http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29178&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:38 GMT Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8547/8801972400_89b46e5587_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/colonyofgamers/sets/72157633633319124/) Click...

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Developer Techland (Dead Island, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger) and publisher Warner Bros Interactive have announced Dying Light, an open world zombie game for next-gen and current gen consoles.

I know what you're thinking. "Another zombie game from the Dead Island studio." That's what I thought at first too. But Techland says this is a different beast. The game centers around a day/night mechanic. You (and up to 4 total players in co-op) spend the daylight hours scavenging supplies, crafting new weapons and scouting for safety. Because as soon as the sun sets, the zombies get much more powerful and aggressive. You also have a free-running mechanic - a la Mirror's Edge - which lets you traverse the environment quickly.

It sure sounds like they're trying to evolve Dead Island. You're still in a tropical setting (one image really looks like the Favelas of Rio) and you're still killing zombies mostly with insanely upgraded melee weapons. The day/night mechanic and the added agility of a free runner sound like positive additions. I liked Dead Island when it came out, but it was a flawed game. Hopefully this one has fewer rough edges.

Dying Light will be released in 2014 for the Xbox One, Playstation 4, 360, PS3 and PC.

(additional info via Kotaku; Polygon) ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29178 GTA V CEs and Pre-Order Bonuses Announced http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29177&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 13:06:44 GMT Image: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/8801610396_05b971bb26_z.jpg (http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/8801610396_1daab4c99f_o.jpg) Click to...

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Rockstar and Take Two have announced the collectors' editions and pre-order bonuses for Grand Theft Auto V. All pre-ordered copies of the game will include the Atomic Blimp, which sounds really cool, but 'Atomic' is just the GTA version of Goodyear. But you can pilot it, which...is a thing.

The two CEs have a little more meat on them. Each $79.99 Special Editon comes with the following:

Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork
Blueprint Map
Special Ability Boost
Stunt Plane Trials
Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More
Additional Weapons

There's also a $149.99 Collectors' Edition, which includes all of the above, plus the following:

Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key
Grand Theft Auto V New Era Snapback Cap
Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online
Unique Vehicles and Garage Property

The in-game boosts appear to be limited to the single player campaign, and don't extend to the (still under wraps) multiplayer mode.

Grand Theft Auto V will be released September 17 for the 360 and PS3.

(via Rockstar) ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29177 In Other News... May 22nd http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29176&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 01:55:26 GMT

- In celebration of this week's Indy 500, Grid 2 has released a new trailer.

- Sony is releasing the first volume of its "Best of PSN" Collection. This volume will have Fat Princess, Tokyo Jungle, Sound Shapes and When Vikings Attack. It will release on June 25th for $29.99, saving you about fifteen dollars over buying them individually.

- Remedy has said that they have no current plans to return to Alan Wake. They love the game, and would like to return to it someday, but the sales just weren't enough to support a sequel. Coincidentally, the game and it's DLC expansion are on sale through the Humble Bundle. Pay what you want for each, but any price over $1 gets you Steam keys and lots of extras, including soundtracks.

- 4A Games is now selling a Season Pass for Metro Last Light. The $15 bundle includes 4 DLC packs, each presumably selling for $5 individually. The DLC includes a pair of campaign expansions, a challenge room and unspecified exploration tools. ]]> Gaming News Ghostbear http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29176 The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29175&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 00:46:19 GMT ...is surprisingly good.

I saw it had come out today, and gave it a little look and thought it'd be a fun little game for 15 bucks (10% of currently) but decided I'd wait for a sale before I picked it up. I've been playing Diablo 3 lately and wasn't really having an 'itch' to play a game like this.

However, Savok owed me 15 bucks for buying him a copy of Starbound, so he just bought it for me. Played it for a little bit, and...actually enjoyed it. The voice acting (aside from one or two characters so far) is top notch, and doesn't seem overly hamfisted in delivery. It plays a LOT like Diablo 3, and it wouldn't surprise me to find they took a lot of inspiration for this game from the Diablo series (there's even treasure goblin-like characters)

For a mini review...I give it a solid 7. But then I've barely scratched the surface. I'm trying a Hardcore Heroic character on my first ever playthrough, and expect to die. Horribly.

Still, great little ARPG, and the price is -well- worth what you're getting. The game feels incredibly polished for that price point along with from the voice acting. It's not perfect, mind you, but it feels easily a 30 or 40 dollar level game. The combat seems a little clunky at times, but it might also be because of the difficulty I'm at, and having to kite a lot due to not wishing to die.

Anyone else pick this up? I give it a hearty recommendation. ]]> PC Gaming Sanctuary Hawkzombie http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29175 XBOX One: Important Decision http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29174&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 20:51:28 GMT So now that it's been announced, as a gaming community, we have a very important decision to make: what do we call the thing? Nobody is going to outright say XBOX One all the time, just like nobody will say PlayStation 4. So, how do we abbreviate? The X1? The One? XBO? Suggestions? ]]> Console Haven Gorvi http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29174 Warhammer: 40,000 Armageddon Coming to PC and iOS http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29172&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 18:18:16 GMT Image: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2862/8782660491_f9d3731801_z.jpg It was recently announced that Slitherine ltd would be getting access to...

It was recently announced that Slitherine ltd would be getting access to the Warhammer 40k IP. What we didn't know was what kind of game they were making.

Warhammer 40k: Armageddon will be a turn based hex wargame set on the Planet Armageddon during the Second War for Armageddon. You will see the forces of the Imperial guard and Space Marines square off against the Ork hordes. The campaign will feature over 30 scenarios that run from the very beginning of the invasion to the final battles.

Regarding multiplayer, there will be separate maps that you'll play against friends by taking your turn, submitting it and then going about your day. It seems pretty similar to games like Hero Academy in that regard or older play by email games of Civilization.

Armageddon will release in the first quarter of 2014. ]]> Gaming News Ghostbear http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29172 Center Space: turn based tactics with mechs http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29171&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 16:42:30 GMT Hey guys,

So... I've been working on my very first indie game for the past year or so, and I think its finally ready to be shown to the world. I dont have any videos for you guys (yet), but I do have some screenies, a website, and of course you can ask me any questions you may have.

Its called Center Space - its a turn based tactics game in which you command a squad of giant robots (called Mechanized Combat Units in universe). It is heavily inspired by MissionForce: CyberStorm - tell me I'm not the only one who ever played it?

Its coming out for PC probably sometime next year. I will list it on Greenlight as soon as I have a demo video ready, and hope to get a playable demo onto the Internet maybe in June or July.

I would love to do a kickstarter, but alas, I am based in South Africa so am not eligible.

Have a look at our website:
www.centerspace.co.za

And here are some screenshots:

Thanks for reading! Feel free to ask me any questions. ]]> PC Gaming Sanctuary Ancalagon http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29171 Animal Crossing: New Leaf http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29170&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 03:15:57 GMT Post here if you catch a fish. Another Sea Bass? Goddamn it. Post here if you catch a fish.

Another Sea Bass? Goddamn it. ]]> Handheld and Mobile Gaming drewmg http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29170 Flickr is changing http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29169&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 01:19:52 GMT I don't know how many CoG-ers use Flickr, but I've been using them for image hosting for a few years.

The short version is: as of May 20, 2013, free users get a lot more, paid options now cost more/offer less, but most current Pro users can keep their current plan.

And the website had a pretty major design/interface overhaul.

http://www.flickr.com/help/limits/
http://mashable.com/2013/05/20/flickr-pro-changes/

Free users now get up to 1TB of storage space, can upload image files up to 200MB in size/full resolution, videos up to 1GB in size/1080p. This is a lot better than the old Free accounts.

The two new paid options are: Ad Free (same as Free, just no ads) for $50/yr or "doublr" (total of 2TB) for $500/yr. (This must just be to discourage people from going over 1TB; I can't imagine who would pay $500/yr for this. There are probably much better options out there.)

The old Pro plan was about $25/yr or $45 for 2 years. File sizes had restrictions, but storage and bandwidth were unlimited, plus no ads. And you get stats and a few other features the new Free accounts still don't get.

IF you had a Pro plan on May 20, and it was set up for recurring subscription (most accounts should have been, unless given as a limited time gift/promotion), you can continue with the same plan, for the same price, with the same features (some size limits have been upped to what the new Free plan gets). Otherwise, you can no longer get a Pro plan, if you didn't have one already.

I'm currently a Pro user, and I guess I'm going to stick with it for now. I haven't tried out other image sharing sites lately. I think Photobucket's still a real pain. And I only use imgur for "upload and forget it" purposes. ]]> The Lounge Wraith http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29169 US PlayStation Store Update 5/21 http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29168&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 21:29:36 GMT Not a huge week this week, Ratchet & Clank Full Frontal Assault finally makes it to the Vita 6 months late. The Vita also gets the incredibly tasteful game Men’s Room Mayhem and PS3 owners can download Ratchet & Clank Deadlocked and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Plus members get two games this week, Germinator for the Vita and Pinball Arcade for the Vita and PS3. The full update from the PlayStation Blog:

PS3

Ratchet: Deadlocked ($9.99)
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($14.99) [With Demo]
Resident Evil Revelations ($49.99)
Fast & Furious: Showdown ($39.99)
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce ($19.99)
Mugen Souls ($39.99)
Remember Me ($59.99) [Pre-Order]
Laugh Factory Live App

Vita

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault ($19.99, Cross-Buy with PS3)
Men’s Room Mayhem ($1.99, on sale for $1.39)

PlayStation Plus

Pinball Arcade (PS3 & PS Vita) (Free)
Germinator (PS Vita) (Free)
Metro: Last Light Season Pass – PS Plus Price: $11.24
Men’s Room Mayhem – PS Plus Price: $.97
Darkstalkers Resurrection + Super Puzzle Fighter Bundle – PS Plus Price: $10.49

On Sale:

Price Drops:

Ultimate Editions:

PS3 DLC:

Vita DLC:
]]> Gaming News Gorvi http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29168 Xbox One Revealed http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29167&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 18:39:09 GMT Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7343/8773070936_f7e81abce3_z.jpg Microsoft today formally announced their new console, Xbox One. The system...

Microsoft today formally announced their new console, Xbox One. The system will launch worldwide later this year. No form date or price was announced.

The one hour presentation was light on games, and heavy on the mass entertainment that Microsoft is so interested in. Some of the highlights:

- The XB1 (the preferred acronym here) will come with 8GB of RAM, a 500 GB HDD, a Blu-Ray drive, built in Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Processing power comes from an 8-core unified CPU/GPU. Wired has a great set of images of the system, the controller and the Kinect.

- XB1 will not be backwards compatible, but it also will not require an internet connection for simple activities such as watching disc movies and playing single player games. Microsoft has not yet said anything about mandatory installs or activations.

- Microsoft focused greatly on the entertainment aspects, announcing a live action Halo TV series from Steven Spielberg, a partnership with the NFL, and an HDMI pass through which lets you access your cable or satellite TV through your Xbox.

- To the surprise of none, the packed-in Kinect 2 was a big focus. It's more powerful and can more accurately map your body, including subtle rotations of your wrists and shoulders. The Kinect functionality is built in from the ground up, and just about everything uses it, from TV menus to Skype chats to game controls.

- On the game front, there was very little. EA Sports showed off their new Ignite engine, and confirmed that FIFA, Madden, NBA and UFC would all be out on the system within a year.

- Forza 5 was shown, and will be a launch title.

- Activision debuted Call of Duty: Ghosts, built on a new engine, you now have a dog in the game. The setting is America just after a near-apocalypse has broken the country. In-engine cut scenes were pretty, but no in-game footage was shown.

- MGS and developer Remedy showed off Quantum Break, a new title which revolves around a creepy girl with some sort of powers. Again, no in-game footage, just a live action trailer and a CGI crash.

- Microsoft Game Studios will be releasing 15 titles themselves for the XB1 in it's first year, 8 of which will be new IPs.

My thoughts on the reveal - Mildly disappointing. I expected a ton of Kinect, Smart Glass and TV connectivity, and I got it. I didn't expect much in the way of game reveals, and I got less than I expected. Not one second of clear in-game footage was shown. CGI cut scenes are nice, but they in no way demonstrate the power of the system, even if they're in-engine. I know they're saving the software revelations for E3 in a few weeks, but they needed to show something more.

The TV connectivity and Kinect stuff is nice, but it's not going to move systems without games. Microsoft seemed to forget it's a game console first and foremost. These issues can be rectified, but it's not off to a great start.

We'll update this story as more news and assets become available.

Additional sources - Wired; Polygon

[Update 1] - Wired is reporting that the XB1 may require installation of games, and will require a separate purchase to play used or borrowed games. Lots of other sites are reporting this, but they all link back to Wired, and I haven't seen any independent confirmation.

Additionally, the Xbox One FAQ notes "You can install games in segments so that gameplay starts quickly and updates download silently in the background." But at one point it had more info (via Joystiq)

Quote:

In a post answering "top questions" about the Xbox One, the official Microsoft page notes the system "does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet." Additionally Microsoft notes that in the case of pre-owned software, the Xbox one is designed "to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We'll have more details to share later." The Q&A makes no mention of the fees confirmed by Microsoft to Wired.

So it almost certainly requires installs, which isn't a deal breaker for anyone I'd guess. But locking out the used/borrowed market, would be a negative. Unless they open up the reselling of used games, which to my knowledge no other digital distributor does. We're trying to figure out exactly what is up, and we'll let you know.

[Update 2] - A little more info is coming out, some of which seems rather muddled. XB1 will allow up to 1000 names on your friends' list, but at the same time your Xbox Live account will remain consistent across platforms. This may mean each system will have their own friends list, because we know the current 360 cannot handle that many friends.

The new controller has more rumble motors, and can provide directional feedback: eg, if a truck is moving from left to right in your field of view, the controller will simulate that rumble moving from left to right. There is a removable battery, but the compartment is now flush with the back of the controller. The "ring" of lights previously seen on the controller and the unit itself are gone, and now the Xbox icon itself will glow different colors.

Finally, developers have the option to offload some of the game's computing load to cloud servers. This will, potentially, allow some lower power jobs to be foisted off onto the cloud while the unit is online, freeing up internal power for other jobs, effectively expanding the power base of the system. Potentially. ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29167 Xbox Reveal Live Blog http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29166&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 16:10:47 GMT The XboxReveal will be...]]>

The XboxReveal will be starting shortly, and our live blog of the proceedings can be found here. The event will be shown on Spike TV, and streams will be available on Xbox.com, Game Trailers, Twitch.tv and a host of other places.

This thread will stay closed to comments until just before the event starts. ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29166 Xbox Reveal Preshow http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29165&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 14:08:47 GMT Microsoft is holding their Xbox Reveal today at 1pm E/10am P (a little more than three hours from now), so we're sort of in a holding pattern until then. So why not have some fun with my patented 'Bold Predictions Sure To Go Wrong.'

The Games: Microsoft has already said that this presentation will focus on the new console, with the game reveals saved for E3 in a few weeks. We already know that Call of Duty: Ghosts will be shown, and EA Sports will be there with a number of titles (FIFA, Madden and UFC at least). So we'll likely only see 2-3 more retail titles and maybe one downloadable title. Predictions: new Forza, Gears of War 4 and the Respawn game, with a downloadable game from Rare thrown into the mix.

Xbox Live: As much as gamers dislike it, Microsoft makes too much money off of the Gold subscriptions to phase them out completely. So you will have to pay a sub of some sort for online play and for most entertainment options. I'd guess you probably won't need a sub to utilize the rumored interface with your cable/satellite service, but that's one of the few things that likely won't be behind a pay wall. Oh, and MS is almost certainly killing the MS points system, so everything you buy will be in real currency amounts for your region. Huzzah! On the other hand, don't expect backwards compatibility of any sort.

The Hardware: Most of the rumors seem to say the same things about the guts of the system: Blu-Ray drive, built-in HDD & Wi-Fi, mandatory Kinect 2.0, a low power mode, and processing power broadly similar to that of the PS4. Rumors also have peg the new system to have an HDMI pass through which will let you use an Xbox interface with your cable or satellite system. The controller is supposed to be mostly unchanged, with minor tweaks to connectivity and construction.

The Show: Prediction - pain. Microsoft has said the show will only run an hour, so it should be mercifully brief, but these things are usually agonizingly awkward. I think Microsoft will try to use the Illumiroom concept to make a big splash, even if they're short on details for it. Now that Molyneux has left Rare, CliffyB has left Epic and Riccitiello has left EA, I'm not sure which gaming pseudo-celebrity will be trotted out. Is Vince Zampella going to be the biggest name on the show, or will we be 'treated' to a non-gaming celeb brought out to painfully demo a game? I predict Taylor Swift or The Biebs, just because

So now it's your turn: your best or most entertaining predictions. And I'll see all of you back here in a few hours for the live blog. ]]> Gaming News DoctorFinger http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29165 Skype Link Shenanigans http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29164&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 13:54:39 GMT It may just be me, but whenever someone has the Skype link below their avatar, it causes the pages to load with a significant delay. Everything else... It may just be me, but whenever someone has the Skype link below their avatar, it causes the pages to load with a significant delay. Everything else loads and I start scrolling and reading and then the Skype link fails to load, leaving a broken image icon, and resets the entire page.

Been doing this for months, but I only now got fed up with it. :)

Any ideas? ]]> Maintenance Bay National Kato http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29164 Tri-Angels 5k Fun Run - River Falls, WI http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29163&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 01:55:06 GMT (I know it's a FB link, and a very sad story, I'm very sorry for both of those things!)

Minneapolis/Western Wisconsin area people - or anybody interested in 5k's/fun runs/etc. I'm sharing the link to the Tri-Angel's 5k taking place in River Falls WI on July 20th, 2013.

The Tri-Angels 5k is raising funds to build a park in memory of Amara, Sophie, and Cecilia Schaffhausen. Sadly, these three children were murdered by their father last July. Their mother, Jessica, is a friend of mine, and I'm hoping to help raise the funds necessary to make this park a reality.

https://www.facebook.com/TriAngels5kFunRun

If any of you are in the area and like to run, or know anybody that likes to run, please feel free to share. I'll be up there, likely walking most of the 5k, but it'd be cool to meet anybody that can make it.

Feel free to respond here, or PM me with any questions. ]]> The Lounge Zagrash http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29163