Author: Demi Williams

NME

Developer Iron Gate has revealed a new Valheim patch that will modify the game’s terrain system to reduce load times.

• READ MORE: Fan mod aims to restore wall-running in ‘Cyberpunk 2077’

Iron Gate released the new patches notes on Steam and detailed all the new changes that will arrive with Patch 0.150.3.

The developer said: “The new terrain modification system is made to reduce the number of network instances and make loading faster and smoother.

“Technically it’s a pretty big change but hopefully, you should not notice that much of a difference except some minor behaviour changes to the hoe and pickaxe and of course much smoother loading of areas with a lot of terrain modifications.”

The terrain modifications after the patch will also automatically use the new modification system. For existing areas where heavy editing has been made before the patch, Iron Gate has added a special console command called “optterrain” which converts all old terrain modifications in the nearby area to the new system.

Along with the new terrain system, Valheim’s latest patch has also fixed a Draugr spawn bug which used to allow them to spawn inside stones. Elsewhere, torches in certain locations should no longer support constructions, and the amount of stone required to ‘Raise’ the grown using the hoe has been lowered.

Various other minor fixes have also been patched such as a server list download bug and tweaks to the world loading.

In March, Iron Gate revealed that Valheim surpassed 6million units sold since its initial Early Access launch in February.

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Thunder Lotus Games has announced a new update for Spiritifarer which introduces a brand new character and story content.

• READ MORE: Indie Games you should check out this week 12-18 April

The Lily Update, currently available to download for PC and consoles, adds local cooperative play improvements to Spiritfarer‘s main game as well as the new character Lily the Butterfly Spirit.

Lily will guide the player through several new scenes which each add depth and detail to the main character Stella’s story. Lily has also been revealed to be Stella’s younger sister and her appearance will introduce night-time sailing to the game.

Creative Director Nicolas Guérin said: “As ever, the updates we’re bringing to Spiritfarer this year are all about the fans – those who helped make this our studio’s most popular game ever.

“We wanted to keep the Lily Update small, to address the single most common feedback we’ve received from players since launch: fans want to know more about Stella and what, ultimately, her quest is about. It’s the emotional core of the game, so we wanted to get it right; Lily offers a sweet and personal window onto who Stella is, and we hope the players like what we’ve done with this update.”

Along with the update, Thunder Lotus Games also revealed that Spiritfarer has surpassed over 500,000 units sold since launching in August 2020.

Spiritfarer is a cosy management game about dying, where you play as main character Stella, a ferry master to the deceased. The indie game was nominated for Best Animation and Game Beyond Entertainment at the BAFTA Games Awards 2021.

Meanwhile, developer ION LANDS recently announced a “sequel-sized” expansion called City of Ghosts for the 2020 title, Cloudpunk.

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NME

Sony has announced Wanderer, a brand new time-travelling PSVR adventure game from indie game studios Oddboy and M Theory.

In a new PlayStation Blog post, details were shared regarding the new PSVR title along with an official teaser trailer.

• READ MORE: PlayStation 5 update will allow games to be stored on USB storage

Wanderer will take the player back through the ages to “reshape humanity’s fortune” in a narrative-driven adventure, with a blend of escape room style puzzles. Playing as Asher Neumann, the protagonist is thrust into an unexpected journey to change the course of history.

Further, players will find themselves in an alternate, apocalyptic timeline where the search begins for Asher’s lost apartment and the artifacts hidden within.

“Wanderer combines a unique blend of escape room-style puzzles and hands-on action sequences that will see you bring together objects and events from various time periods in sometimes unlikely and inventive ways. Take a step back into history, with full motion control on dual PS move controllers, to experience beautifully detailed worlds that come to life with realistic and innovative physics-based interactions,” said Sam Ramlu, Executive Producer at M Theory and Oddboy.

An official release date has yet to be announced, but Wanderer is expected to drop in summer 2021.

Sony recently revealed the first look at the next-generation PlayStation VR controller for PS5, which will “build upon the innovation” introduced with the DualSense controller.

The post Sony announces new PSVR adventure game ‘Wanderer’ appeared first on NME.

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Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla‘s upcoming DLC expansion, Wrath of the Druids, has been delayed until May.

• READ MORE: The state of game streaming in 2021
  

The delay was posted on the official Assassin’s Creed Twitter account. It said: “To deliver a more refined experience, we’re sharing that Wrath of the Druids will now release on May 13.”

Ubisoft also noted that they are working on an article that will provide full transparency on the development process.

The Wrath of the Druids expansion was originally set for release on April 29 but will now launch two weeks later. The story will follow the main character, Eivor, to Ireland where he will encounter members of an ancient druidic cult, tracking and discovering their members.

Wrath of the Druids can be purchased as a standalone or players can also access the expansions through the Season Pass, which is available as part of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla Gold, Ultimate, and Collector Editions. Later this year, another expansion titled The Siege of Paris is set to launch as well.

Elsewhere, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla‘s lead writer Darby McDevitt recently announced that he is departing Ubisoft. “After a decade of working with brilliant people, creating stories & characters for an incredible series, & interacting with our wonderful fans, I have decided to set forth on a new adventure…” wrote McDevitt on Twitter.

The post ‘Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’ Wrath of the Druids DLC has been delayed appeared first on NME.

NME

Respawn Entertainment has announced that their battle royale game, Apex Legends, has officially passed 100million unique players worldwide.

Respawn shared a celebratory video on the game’s official Twitter account which revealed the news, writing: “100 million strong, and we’re just getting started. Thank you, Legends!”

• READ MORE: Life’s too short for boring video games!

Apex Legends originally launched on PC and consoles in February 2019 and has since gained a dedicated player base. The battle royale was also added to Nintendo Switch in March following its second anniversary.

The free-to-play first-person shooter game also won Best Multiplayer Game at the BAFTA 2019 awards, and was nominated for Best Ongoing Game at The Game Awards 2020.

Earlier this month, Respawn confirmed that Apex Legends will receive brand new game modes. Design Director Jason McCord discussed the studio’s goals and shared that the team will focus on season nine and plans to introduce new gameplay modes.

“Currently, Apex Legends is strictly a battle royale, but we’ve built these characters and a world that I think players really want to be in, even if they don’t love battle royales,” he said.

Elsewhere, it was also confirmed that Apex Legends will be getting Titanfall content for season nine when it eventually arrives this spring, and a well-known Titanfall 2 weapon for the game has already been leaked to be in development.

The post ‘Apex Legends’ has surpassed 100 million global players appeared first on NME.

NME

Respawn Entertainment has announced that their battle royale game, Apex Legends, has officially passed 100million unique players worldwide.

Respawn shared a celebratory video on the game’s official Twitter account which revealed the news, writing: “100 million strong, and we’re just getting started. Thank you, Legends!”

• READ MORE: Life’s too short for boring video games!

Apex Legends originally launched on PC and consoles in February 2019 and has since gained a dedicated player base. The battle royale was also added to Nintendo Switch in March following its second anniversary.

The free-to-play first-person shooter game also won Best Multiplayer Game at the BAFTA 2019 awards, and was nominated for Best Ongoing Game at The Game Awards 2020.

Earlier this month, Respawn confirmed that Apex Legends will receive brand new game modes. Design Director Jason McCord discussed the studio’s goals and shared that the team will focus on season nine and plans to introduce new gameplay modes.

“Currently, Apex Legends is strictly a battle royale, but we’ve built these characters and a world that I think players really want to be in, even if they don’t love battle royales,” he said.

Elsewhere, it was also confirmed that Apex Legends will be getting Titanfall content for season nine when it eventually arrives this spring, and a well-known Titanfall 2 weapon for the game has already been leaked to be in development.

The post ‘Apex Legends’ has surpassed 100 million global players appeared first on NME.

NME

CD Projekt Red has released another patch for it’s open-world role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077, which is set to fix even more bugs.

Patch 1.21 introduces fixes for issues players have come across during their time playing Cyberpunk. CDPR said: “In this update we focused on further improving the overall stability of the game and fixing the most common issues that could block progression.”

• READ MORE: New study shows video games are beneficial for students

In the patch notes, there are a number of updates to the ‘Quests & Open World’ list, including fixes for glitched characters and cutscenes. It appears that many missions have also been patched and will now run more smoothly for players.

One of the most common bugs where the Night City Police officers would spawn behind the player’s back on roof buildings has also been corrected, along with UI improvements and stability and performance updates.

Patch 1.21 is officially live for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Google Stadia players.

Just over 2 weeks ago, CDPR also released Patch 1.2, a massive update which brought over 100 bug fixes to PC and consoles. This patch was due to be released in February but was delayed to March following a recent cyber attack on the studio’s IT infrastructure.

After Cyberpunk 2077 launched last year, the open-world RPG was met with criticism due to its poor performance on PS4 and Xbox One consoles, which led to Sony removing the game from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red recently came out to say it is convinced Cyberpunk 2077 will sell “for years to come”.

The post ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Patch 1.21 fixes even more bugs appeared first on NME.

NME

CD Projekt Red has released another patch for it’s open-world role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077, which is set to fix even more bugs.

Patch 1.21 introduces fixes for issues players have come across during their time playing Cyberpunk. CDPR said: “In this update we focused on further improving the overall stability of the game and fixing the most common issues that could block progression.”

• READ MORE: New study shows video games are beneficial for students

In the patch notes, there are a number of updates to the ‘Quests & Open World’ list, including fixes for glitched characters and cutscenes. It appears that many missions have also been patched and will now run more smoothly for players.

One of the most common bugs where the Night City Police officers would spawn behind the player’s back on roof buildings has also been corrected, along with UI improvements and stability and performance updates.

Patch 1.21 is officially live for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Google Stadia players.

Just over 2 weeks ago, CDPR also released Patch 1.2, a massive update which brought over 100 bug fixes to PC and consoles. This patch was due to be released in February but was delayed to March following a recent cyber attack on the studio’s IT infrastructure.

After Cyberpunk 2077 launched last year, the open-world RPG was met with criticism due to its poor performance on PS4 and Xbox One consoles, which led to Sony removing the game from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red recently came out to say it is convinced Cyberpunk 2077 will sell “for years to come”.

The post ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Patch 1.21 fixes even more bugs appeared first on NME.

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The rumours surrounding a Bloodborne PC and PS5 remaster might have been debunked.

• READ MORE: It’s official: ‘Anthem’ is shutting down. So what went wrong?
  

This comes from a new Twitter post by Lance McDonald, known for his Bloodborne 60FPS mod, in response to the original rumour from last year. A known Twitter leaker is now claiming the game is “still coming”.

Lance said he debunked the rumour nearly a year ago, explaining he spoke to developers at a number of studios rumoured to be working on it, and since then has decided to stop looking into the Bloodborne PC rumours.

McDonald went on to say that enough time has passed that he did not know what going on with Bloodborne and had no relevant information about it.

He also added that last year, he found the original source of the rumours that were being privately shared between “insiders,” and found that “they were 100% fake.”

At the end of the Twitter thread, McDonald added: “As I said at the time, I can’t prove if Bloodborne is, was, or ever will be coming to PC.

“But I can prove when individual people are lying and individual leaks are fake.”

According to the original rumour, the Bloodborne remaster is apparently being developed by Bluepoint Games and will feature better textures and models, better loading times and will run at 60FPS at 4K resolution with ultra-wide support.

Lance McDonald also recently discovered a new cheat code for NieR: Automata, almost four year after its initial release.

The post ‘Bloodborne’ PC and PS5 rumours might have been debunked appeared first on NME.

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Developer Night School Studio has just announced the sequel to 2016 title Oxenfree.

• READ MORE: The state of game streaming in 2021

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a new supernatural adventure game set five years after the events of the first game. The sequel follows main character Riley, an environmental researcher, who returns to her hometown of Camena to investigate mysterious radio signals, but uncovers so much more.

Co-founder and studio director at Night School Studio, Sean Krankel, said after Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase: “Words cannot begin to express how happy I am to finally talk about Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.

“Oxenfree is such a special game to us, and it has been an incredible experience to revisit this world. We’re eager to welcome our players back while inviting newcomers to embark on an adventure with an entirely new cast of characters that retains the weird, heartfelt, and personalized experience of the original.”

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is launching on Nintendo Switch and Steam later this year, with an official release date yet to be revealed.

It was also announced that Night School Studio have partnered with MWM Interactive to publish the new indie game.

Ethan Stearns, executive vice president of MWM said: “Oxenfree II: Lost Signals will continue to build on what players loved so much about the original, with a new story that carries the essence of Oxenfree while offering an entry point into the franchise for those who haven’t played the first game.”

In other Nintendo news, The House of the Dead: Remake has been announced for Nintendo Switch and will arrive later this year.

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