Month: May 2017

Battlestate Games, developer of Escape from Tarkov, the realism-focused hardcore FPS/MMO hybrid, have released screenshots and concept artwork for the new location – The Shoreline. The Shoreline closely neighbors the Tarkov evacuation point, and is characterized by a noticeably larger map footprint than any other Tarkov locations. The Shoreline houses a partially abandoned village, modern private housing, fields, a marina, gas station, weather station, cellular base station and more.

Its chief point of interest is the large “Azure Coast” health resort, consisting of several buildings with a central hydroelectric power plant. The main exit from of this new area will be located next to the Russian Armed Forces checkpoint at the Port entrance.

View the new screenshots here (Hosted by Worthplaying).

More info on Escape From Tarkov can be found at the game’s official website.

Source: Blue’s News

A Call of Duty blog post has word that on May 30th they will offer the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Multiplayer DLC Trial Pack, a 30-day free trial of the DLC for the shooter sequel. This will happen automatically, so this post on Steam explains how to opt out if for some reason you don’t want to download all that. Here’s word on the plan:

Next week, starting on Tuesday, May 30 at 10am/PDT, we’re kicking off the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Multiplayer DLC Trial Pack for PC, a 30-day free trial that will give players access to all of the multiplayer goodness found in all four Downloadable Content packs. Furthermore, all of the MP maps will be added to all of the playlists.

Already own the DLC?

Glad you asked. . .

If you already own the DLC that you’re playing, you’ll get a 2XP reward. The deal is even sweeter for Season Pass owners, who will receive 2XP on all multiplayer maps. And those offers last through the duration of the 30-day trial.

Update 1.69 adds Italy as new major nation and introduces new vehicles, locations and features including support for PlayStation®4 Pro

Gaijin Entertainment today announced the release of Update 1.69 ‘Regia Aeronautica’ for its vehicular combat MMOG War Thunder. “Regia Aeronautica” unlocks Italy as War Thunder’s sixth nation, initially offering a formidable line-up of 35 of the most historically accurate representations of their famous Air Force in any computer game ever. Other features include new aircraft and tanks for four other nations, the long-awaited ability to launch smoke shells and smokescreens from tanks, new realistic recreations of battlefields, and support for PlayStation®4 Pro.

The Regia Aeronautica
The new Italian aircraft tree stretches from Italy’s famous biplanes of the 1930’s to its powerful jet fighters of the 1960s. Among the latter is the Fiat G.91, a light, fast and agile fighter-bomber that is highly versatile in combat, thanks to its rapid-firing, heavy Browning machine guns, bombs and 38 rockets. Italian bombers include highlights such as the heavy four-engined Piaggio P.108B, which can carry a staggering 3.5 tons of bombs or three torpedoes. Its sister model, the ship hunter P.108A, comes equipped with a massive 102mm anti-ship cannon with 50 rounds of ammunition, which is now the largest aviation weapon in the game by far. All players will get gradual access to the new nation’s aircraft, with new models being unlocked for research every few days. More information will follow in the Developer’s Blog.

New ground vehicles
The United States gets access to a new top-rank vehicle, the M60A2 “Starship”, which can fire both conventional shells and guided-missiles from its 152mm cannon. For the Soviet Union, the T-55A is introduced as a worthy successor to the T-54, sporting excellent close combat and flanking capabilities. The German tree sees its first armored car, the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 “Puma” with a rapid-firing 50mm cannon.

Smoke shells and smokescreen launchers
Two completely new features in War Thunder are smoke shells and smokescreen launchers. The former, will allow tankers to deploy protective smoke over large distances, while the latter is an effective method to hide from enemy fire while repairing on the battlefield or defending a capture point.

Three new locations
The ground battles location ‘Kuban’ has been greatly revamped, which will make tank combat on the new location much more tactical and varied. For pilots, the hot sands of ‘Tunisia’ await, while naval captains can now assault the Black Sea on the new ‘Black Sea Port’ map.

PlayStation®4 Pro support
Now, thanks to the improved performance of the PlayStation®4 Pro console, owners can play War Thunder in native 4K resolution.

For more update info, screenshots and to watch the War Thunder: Update 1.69 “Regia Aeronautica” release video, click here.

6th of June 1944, the greatest seaborne operation in World War II begins. But there is another 6th of June to keep in mind, this one soon however.

Because on June the 6th 2017 Strategic Command World War II: War in Europe, one of the most intriguing wargames on the market, will be available on Steam!

Since its release, Strategic Command has been known to employ a very well designed Historical Decision Event System, where every military decision must be taken very carefully, always balancing the advantages and the disadvantages.

In combination with a smart AI capable of long-term strategies, prioritizing fronts and making good strategic choices, Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe happened to be a very nice addition for both experienced wargamers and newcomers.

With Strategic Command marching straight to Steam, developer studio Fury Software is very proud to announce that an important update has been released for beta testing. This new version adds some needed icons for the UI, Expanded tooltips, an Amended supply distribution system, and many more improvements, making this version of Strategic Command the most playable and enjoyable one ever!

What are you waiting for? Get more information about the game from its official Product Page!

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

Fractal Design released the Focus G series chassis. Armed with a budget price this is a silent, decent looking and compact PC chassis series. The predominantly black and chassis (optional colors) comes with enough cooling options, your average FD design and it will house up-to ATX motherboards. It has an plexi glass side panel and two LED lit fans at the front.

Read The Review Here

By AkG @ Hardware Canucks

In order to impress a rather conservative thinking crowd Fractal has pulled out all the stops. Much like their original AIO, Fractal Design’s new Celsius S combines elegance and grace to create a model that is aesthetically pleasing without handicapping performance. A classic combination of either a dual 120mm radiator (Celsius S24) or triple 120mm radiator (the Celsius S36 being reviewed today) with a high performance waterblock is a proven winning combination. So much so that we have little doubts about this massive 360mm AIO’s cooling performance. If Fractal Design had stopped there we doubt it would raise many eyebrows as the North American market is filled with similar designs. What seems to be missing however are more versatile 120mm / 140mm options but we’re sure those are coming down the pipeline soon.

Read The Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• MSI to Unveil GeForce GTX 1080 Ti LIGHTNING Z at Computex
• Enermax Launches NEOChanger, the RGB Pump-Reservoir Combo
• Kingston Intros the SSDNow KC1000 Line of M.2 NVMe SSDs
• Zotac Shows GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Mini and GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Mini on Liquid
• Fractal Design Unveils Focus G Series Cases
• ASUS Intros the ROG STRIX B350-F Gaming Motherboard
• Cooling Ryzen In Style – Phanteks Adds AMD AM4 CPU Water Block To Glacier Series
• MSI Finally Releases Core Frozr XL CPU Cooler
• ADATA Releasing SX9000 M.2 SSD with Marvell Controller
• MSI Releases World’s Most Feature Packed & Powerful Z270 Motherboard: Z270 GODLIKE GAMING
• CRYORIG Reveals New R5 Cooler and Cu Line of Performance Enhanced Coolers
• BenQ EW2770QZ 27-inch WQHD IPS Display has Brightness Intelligence Plus Tech
• Raijintek Intros the Aura 12 RGB Case Fans
• EK Announces Full-Cover Water Blocks for 1080 Ti AORUS Graphics Cards
• NVMe 1.3 Specifications are Finalized with New Features
• New Firmware Update Improves Crucial MX300 Stability

By Jim Moreno @ The Wargamer

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam recently held it’s final (7th) closed beta test wave, which focused on another round of bug fixes and balance tweaks based on beta tester feedback from the previous 6 waves. Beta testers have now fallen back to the rear while we await official deployment of the Antimatter Games / Tripwire Interactive / Iceberg Interactive Vietnam War-themed multiplayer tactical FPS, currently scheduled for Q2 2017.

The work the devs have put into RS2V between the beta waves is astounding, to say the least. The list is way too massive to list here, but you can read the changelog for all the details. After my enlistment time in the 7th beta wave, I can emphatically say that RS2V will be a significantly better run through the jungle than anything previous.

Read on…

Eugen Systems and Paradox are Locked and Loaded with their Newest Bombshell 

Paradox Interactive, a publisher known for shooting from the hip, today released Steel Division: Normandy 44, a tactical real-time strategy (RTS) game from Eugen Systems, for Windows PCs. Steel Division: Normandy 44, made by the creators of Wargame and R.U.S.E, welcomes players to the world of 1944 World War II-era warfare with detailed and historically accurate weapons, tanks and troops. Players must use their tactical know-how to outmaneuver and outgun the enemy in big multiplayer battles, or go it alone in a hardcore single-player campaign.

Steel yourself for war with a new trailer, available here.

Lead legendary divisions from six different countries, such as the American 101st Airborne, the German Armored 21st Panzer, or the 3rd Canadian Division, all based on their actions and capabilities during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Take command of over 400 units armed to the teeth with historically accurate weaponry. Maneuver your troops and push the front line against the enemy in multiplayer battles that feature ranked matches of up to 10-vs-10. Coordinate your selections of infantry, tanks and aircraft to create the ultimate military force and counter the enemy’s units.

Your war chest of features include:

• Real-world Tactics: Battles accurately reflect the movement of real-world armies with different units that unlock over time. A dynamic front line illustrates the ebb and flow of the conflict as you strategically corner your opponent’s infantry to gain the advantage and force a retreat, or fall back to regroup.
• Deep Strategy: Players have control over everything from battlegroups to troop positioning and maneuvering — winning battles will call for more than just brute force, requiring real cunning and strategy. Each lost unit presents a growing tactical advantage for your opponent, and players will need to fight to gain — and keep — the upper hand.
• Real-world Setting: Seamlessly control a tactical aerial view to monitor your armies down to a single unit using the latest version of Eugen’s IRISZOOM engine. With 400 different real-world vehicles and units designed with careful detail, Steel Division boasts textbook-ready historical accuracy including maps based on actual aerial reconnaissance photos of Normandy in 1944.

For more information on Steel Division: Normandy 44, visit the games official website.

By Alice O’Connor @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

It’s not only French and Russian soldiers who were left out of World War 1 in Battlefield 1 [official site] for later appearances in paid expansions: women are coming in DLC too. Soldiers from the 1st Russian Women’s Battalion of Death will serve as the multiplayer Scout class for the Russian forces coming later this year in the expansion In the Name of the Tsar, DICE have revealed. They look pret-ty gnarly all right but it’s such a shame they’re limited to paid DLC.

DICE don’t have much more to say for now, instead pointing people towards EA’s big E3 livestream presentation EA Play on June 10th. Okey cokey.

Supposedly DICE did originally plan to include women soldiers in Battlefield 1 then changed their minds. Bedouin rebel Zara Ghufran is playable in part of the game’s singleplayer campaign but the plan was to have female soldiers in multiplayer too.

Read more…