Elder Scrolls Online Beta Hits PS4 and Xbox One Tomorrow
The Elder Scrolls Online will enter closed beta on PS4 and Xbox One tomorrow, it's been revealed.
This will be the only console beta for the upcoming MMO and those wishing to participate must have received an invitation in order to do so, so be sure to check your email inbox.
The beta will begin tomorrow April 23 at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm GMT and will run until Monday, April 27, at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm GMT. Invites are going out now, and beware some may have been caught by your spam filters.
Though the available content won't be gated, it's been confirmed all beta characters will be wiped ahead of launch so, unless you've decided to pay to transfer your PC character across, you'll be starting at level 1.
15 Coolest Times the Avengers Have Assembled
While audiences are expecting quite a bit to happen in Avengers: Endgame, comic fans are hoping to see, or rather hear, one thing in particular: Captain America saying the iconic rallying phrase, "Avengers assemble!" The first time the Avengers formed on-screen during the Battle of New York, Cap didn't need to say the words because the circle-round shot did a superb job showing the team assembling, so it would've been overkill to say it, director Joss Whedon explained at the time. While Whedon withheld the signature call-to-arms with the best of intentions then, he outright trolled fans at the end of Age of Ultron when the film abruptly ended just as the words were about to leave Cap's lips. Now, with one Avengers film left to go before Chris Evans reportedly departs the role, what better time for Cap to finally deliver the goods?
Hi-Rez Studios Teases New Smite Arena
Smite's incredibly popular Arena game mode is due for a facelift, developer Hi-Rez Studios has revealed.
Speaking with IGN, the team behind the third-person, action-based MOBA has teased a forthcoming update that will spruce up the Thunderdome-esque setting. The first concept image for the new arena appears to pull heavily from Roman architecture and themes reminiscent of The Colosseum.
"We did a complete visual overhaul of the Arena map including all new themed buff camp NPCs and minions," said Hi-Rez Studios Environmental Art Director Thomas Holt. "Everything in the map from the portals to the crowds has been completely redone to improve quality and better support the mode's game play and theming."
Axiom Verge PC Release Date Announced, Vita to Follow
Axiom Verge will be available on PC from May 14 for $19.99 / €17.99.
The 2D sidescroller is set to hit the Steam and Humble Stores on that date replete with Cloud Saves and Steam Trading Cards. Though a PS Vita release date hasn't been set yet, it's been confirmed to have cross-buy support with the PS4 edition.
A 2D sidescroller very much in the same vein as Metroid, our review was suitably impressed finding it has "great weapons, interesting abilities, and a fantastic sense of progression."
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.
Daniel Radcliffe Confirmed for BBC’s Grand Theft Auto Drama
The BBC has officially unveiled its new factual drama Game Changer, set to follow the story surrounding the creation of Grand Theft Auto and the controversy it stirred up.
First rumoured earlier this year, Game Changer will center on the real-life conflict between co-creator Sam Houser and campaigning lawyer Jack Thompson, with Daniel Radcliffe officially confirmed for the role of Houser while Bill Paxton will star as Thompson.
"Conceived for an adult audience, this special 90-minute drama tells the story of the controversy surrounding the computer game Grand Theft Auto - arguably the greatest British coding success story since Bletchley Park," a press release explains.
The Weapon Breaking Bug in Dark Souls 2 Is Getting Fixed
The weapon degradation bug in Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin is getting fixed.
The bug has been linked with the jump from 30 frames per second to 60 on current-gen, which roughly doubled the speed at which weapons would degrade.
“Fixed issue whereby weapon durability was decreased drastically when used on enemy corpses, friendly characters, etc. (Especially apparent for users running the game at 60 fps as the durability decrease rate was linked to the frame rate),” reads the calibration notes.
Other issues being addressed, which applies to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam users running either DirectX 9 or DirectX 11, are problems with jump attacks and guard breaks not registering as they should.
Is Curse Voice “Unswattable”?
Curse has claimed that its voice communication platform, Curse Voice, eliminates online identity theft and other malicious attacks like Swatting.
Attackers can obtain personal information from unprotected VoIP, which has resulted in SWAT teams being called to innocent people's doors. Curse says that it has measures in place to limit the amount of personal information that is shared.
Rather than a peer-to-peer connection, Curse Voice uses a cloud based system. Hubert Thieblot, Curse founder and CEO, says that "no swapping of server information or passwords occurs in order to prevent your IP from falling into the wrong hands".
According to Curse, its voice communication software will always be free. It is looking to prevent Swatting attacks like this one from last year.
Star Wars Battlefront Dev Addresses DLC Concerns
Star Wars Battlefront's producer has reassured fans content will not be held back from the initial release of EA's upcoming shooter to be sold later as DLC.
Taking to Reddit, Jesper Nielsen stressed the team is committed to releasing a game that expands on the strengths of past titles when it comes to core gameplay, and there'll be plenty of content available at launch.
"I cannot stress this enough; there will be more than 8 maps!" he wrote. "Also, the amount of content in the game has absolutely zero to do with DLC. I can say that with all honesty.
Pain-free Blood Test Could Do Away With Needles
DARPA-funded company Tasso Inc. has developed a device that does away with stabbing the body with a needle to extract blood in a process that “is almost entirely painless.”
Using vacuum, the pingpong-sized ball device causes a small amount of blood to flow into an attached sample tube when its held against the skin for two minutes.
Ben Casavant, vice president and co-founder, explains in a press release that the device “relies on the forces that govern the flow of tiny fluid streams" and that “at these scales, surface tension dominates over gravity, and that keeps the blood in the channel no matter how you hold the device."
Latest GTA V Patch Fixes Rockstar Editor Issues
Rockstar Games has released a list of fixes that are live in the latest 335.1 patch.
The full list is on the Rockstar Games website, with the majority of the items covering tweaks and improvements.
The Rockstar Editor has had some smoothing out, with a handful of fixes, while Steam compatibility has been improved. While installation of Windows Media Player was a requirement prior to the 335.1 patch, this has been replaced with the requisite installation of Windows Media Foundation.