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Ghost Recon: Wildlands – Fallen Ghosts Now Available

With the Santa Blanca neutralized, Unidad forces are struggling to maintain control as various factions the cartel’s remnants in the Bolivian countryside. To help them assert control, they bring in Los Extranjeros – a group of international ex-military mercenaries with the singular focus of taking out any and all opposing forces. You and your team will have to use every tool at your disposal to engage this formidable new foe in Fallen Ghosts, the new expansion for Ghost Recon: Wildlands available now for Season Pass owners (and available June 6 for individual purchase). Watch the Ghost Recon: Wildlands – Fallen Ghosts release trailer here.

What makes Los Extranjeros so dangerous is their tech and expertise. For starters, there’s the Armored unit, a walking tank with a single weak point that will require Ghosts to hone their headshot skills. Then there’s the Covert Ops unit. These cloaked enemies specialize in catching you off-guard, so it might be a good idea to have a squad member check their thermal vision more often. Rounding out Los Extranjeros are the Elite Snipers and Jammers – the former is a constant threat, while the latter causes a new set of problems with their roaming electronic disruption capabilities.

Los Extranjeros present new challenges for Ghost Recon: Wildlands players as the Ghosts undertake 15 new missions and work towards the new level cap of 35 – but for those looking for an even greater challenge, Fallen Ghosts’ tweaked difficulty settings allows players to create an even greater tactical challenge for their squad.

For more information, check out the official Ghost Recon: Wildlands website.

First-Person Shooters Ghost Recon: Wildlands | Donster | May 31, 2017 |

The Operational Art of War IV In-depth Analysis – Naval Warfare

The Operational Art of War IV includes a suite of new naval features that should prove to be a good first step towards a full naval warfare model.

Naval Combat: To recap, naval combat in TOAW had been very crudely modeled. Ships were literally treated as if they were a single piece of equipment – like a single squad. Any AP hit killed them. Their defense strengths weren’t used in that determination, by the way. This surprising discovery meant that it was as easy to sink a Battleship as it was to sink a Destroyer. AP strengths were combined for hit determination – making a bunch of DDs as powerful as BBs. Whether hit ships were permanently destroyed or just sent to the “On Hand” pool bizarrely depended upon a check against their proficiency. Fleet units could “evaporate” like a land unit that had lost cohesion. Embarked units employed their various strengths when attacked. The whole thing had to be overhauled if there was to be any hope of realistic naval warfare. It has been. The new naval combat model has the following features:

Ships now have damage levels, and take damage in combat, if hit by the attacking ordinance. Those levels are displayed in the unit report.
Attacking equipment Anti-ship factors are evaluated as individual shots/planes so that each warhead can be evaluated for armor penetration.
Hit chances depend on a number of checks made involving various factors such as the visibility, attacker proficiency, target agility, aircraft anti-naval strength, gunnery range, and shock levels.
The amount of damage a hit inflicts on a target ship depends upon shell weights of the ordinance hitting them, their armor thickness, and their durability.
Ship armor and durability are derived from the ship’s defense strength, unless the designer has explicitly specified them using the new naval equipment add-on to the scenario’s equipment file. That file also allows ship agility, accuracy, and speed to be explicitly specified.
Embarked units’ armor, durability, agility, and AAA are fixed at 0, 25, 18, and 0, respectively. This means that the strengths of the embarked equipment are no longer used to resolve attacks on embarked units.
Ships that accumulate 100 or more damage points are eliminated – sent to the dead pile.
Ship damage levels less than 100 are saved in the unit on each TO&E line. Those levels debilitate the ship’s AP, AAA, Speed, Nuclear Strength, and Agility accordingly. They do not affect Defense Strength, Armor, or Durability levels. Damage levels of 50 or more turn the ship’s TO&E button silver (for a bit of chrome).
If a TO&E line contains more than one ship all damage on that line is applied to only a single ship until the damage totals 100 – at which point one ship is sunk and the damage level of the TO&E line drops back to zero. Call it the “lead” ship in that line. Other ships in that TO&E line remain undamaged (and invulnerable) – until they become the “lead” ship due to the sinking of the previous one. Note that there is a technique available to designers to split such multiple-ship lines up into single ship lines, if desired.
Naval units cannot be disbanded by players or evaporated by combat short of all ships in the unit being sunk. Combat never sends ships to the “On Hand” pool.
Aircraft Carriers with more than 66 damage points cease to function as aircraft carriers. If that means that there are then fewer aircraft carrier bases than air units in the hex, one air unit will be eliminated.
Carrier-based air units are exempt from combat reorganization.
Damage points incurred by embarked units destroy a weight of equipment equal to those damage points.
There is limited ability to repair some damage while at sea and significantly more while at port.

This new combat procedure only affects combat where the target is a ship or embarked. Bombardment of land units by naval forces is still resolved just as it has always been resolved.

Read the full entry here.

Check out the official The Operational Art of War IV product page for more game information!

Strategy and Wargaming The Operational Art of War IV | Donster | May 31, 2017 |

Wake Up and Smell the Napalm – Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Out Today on the Steam Store

Tripwire Interactive Announces Special 10% Off Sale and Double XP Event for the First Week

Tripwire Interactive is pleased today to announce the release of Rising Storm 2: Vietnam on PC. The highly-anticipated sequel to the smash hit Rising Storm hits the Steam store at 10:00 AM Pacific Time today, and though the Standard Edition will normally be available for $24.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition priced at $29.99, both editions are 10% off through June 6.

Check out the new Rising Storm 2: Vietnam launch trailer here.

“Rising Storm 2: Vietnam has grown out of all we’ve learned over the years in the Red Orchestra franchise. The weapons, the gameplay, the look – all coming together to generate a really immersive, visceral experience that will keep drawing people in.” said Alan Wilson, Product Director for Tripwire. “The AMG crew have all the experience of designing for asymmetric warfare from the first Rising Storm and, this time, we went through multiple beta waves to gather feedback from the players, act on that feedback and really hone the game to what the players wanted. We’ll continue to do that post-release as well, with a series of upcoming updates – new factions, new gameplay and more. As always with Tripwire, it will be free to everyone who owns the game.”

In addition to the first week sale, early players of Rising Storm 2: Vietnam will also be lucky enough to enjoy double XP for the first week of release. The Shake and Bake Double XP launch promotion will run through June 6 as well, and grant all owners of the game double experience points as they play during the first week of the game’s release.

“At Antimatter Games we’re immensely proud of the work we’ve done on Rising Storm 2,” said Jack Hackett, Producer at Antimatter Games. “We’ve taken what we learned from the first Rising Storm and blended that with the unique opportunities that the Vietnam setting offers to create something that we think is truly special. It’s been a fun journey, and we’re grateful to Tripwire for trusting us to put a fresh spin on the series.“

“Of course, we couldn’t do it without the support and feedback of our fantastic community,” Hackett continued. “They’ve already helped shape the game throughout the Beta, and I can’t wait to see them take it even further with mods and custom maps after release.”

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is developed by Antimatter Games and published by Tripwire Interactive for PC.

Stay up-to-date with the latest Rising Storm 2: Vietnam news and information at the games official website.

First-Person Shooters Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | Donster | May 30, 2017 |

Just Announced Hardware for 30 May 2017

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. Computex 2017 at Taipei, Taiwan kicked off today, so we have bonus coverage from the event!

Hardware | Donster | May 30, 2017 |

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China Leaves Early Access, Full Release Now Available

“The sky was a maelstrom of exploding bombers, twisting tracers, flaming parachutes, and Robert’s own burning fighter… then his engine quit!”

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (“FTSOC”), the historical air-combat action game based on the events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons who flew combat in Southeast Asia during World War 2, launches today on Steam in 13 languages including English, German, Russian and Chinese. View the launch trailer here.

Published and developed by Ace Maddox, FTSOC was created in Steam’s Early Access program allowing the development team to gather ongoing feedback from the game’s community while iterating, improving and adding new content and features to the game on a near-monthly basis for over a year and a half.

The Digital Deluxe Edition, also available today, contains the Paradise Island DLC which includes the Phi Phi Islands dogfight and multiplayer map, and two amphibious fighters: the Japanese A6M2-N “Rufe” and the US Navy SC-1 “Seahawk”, plus the digital soundtrack OST featuring original music from the game.

FEATURES:

RARELY DEPICTED AIR-BATTLES OF WORLD WAR 2
Action-packed campaign recreates the clandestine operations of the American Volunteer Group in fighter, bomber, gunner, reconnaissance, torpedo, and night missions.

APPROACHABLE TAKE ON AIR-COMBAT
Features TrazerTime™ slow-motion precision firing, arcade-like combat maneuvers, sim-style pitch & roll controls, moody weathers (including thunderous monsoons, beautiful sunsets and misty dawns), 20+ Allied and Japanese planes, adjustable mouse & keyboard, gamepad, and flightstick controls, and more!

MULTIPLAYER FOR UP TO 16 PLAYERS
Steam leaderboards eternalize players’ online rankings across five battle modes! Coordinate devastating air-attacks in TEAM DOGFIGHT while providing cover for your comrades, outdo all enemies using powerful rocket weaponry in ROCKET BATTLE VS, or take to the skies to “Capture the Flag” in the FLAGBUSTERS mode.

PAY ONCE AND PLAY
No micro-transactions or F2P-elements – for a single purchase, you’ll get the full, stand-alone experience – with unrestricted multiplayer!

FLY IN COCKPIT OR THIRD-PERSON MODE
Soar through the skies of Southeast Asia in third-person or cockpit view in a variety of American, British, Russian/Chinese, and Japanese aircraft.

STRIKING RENDITION OF THE FAR EAST
Faithful environments, beautiful graphics, booming sound effects and an epic-orchestral soundtrack create a lasting impression of the China-Burma-India theatre.

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China is priced at $14.99/€14.99/£10.99 for the standard version, with the digital deluxe edition costing $18.99/€18.99/£13.99.

FTSOC is available in 13 languages: English, Spanish, French, Polish, German, Portuguese-Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Italian, Czech, Turkish, and Japanese.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

Combat Flight Sim Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China | Donster | May 29, 2017 |

Historical Article: ‘A Shattered Command’

Outnumbered and outgunned, the Marine pilots of VMF-221 paid a heavy price for their heroic efforts to stem the Japanese onslaught on Midway Atoll

By Richard Camp @ Historynet.com

At 0555 hours on June 4, 1942, the heart-pounding wail of Midway atoll’s air raid siren sent the pilots of Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) scrambling to their aircraft. The island’s air defense radar had detected a swarm of Japanese aircraft—“Many planes, 93 miles, 310 degrees, altitude 11,000 feet”—heading their way, and no pilot wanted to be caught on the ground when they arrived.

Read on…

Military History | Donster | May 26, 2017 |

Command: Chains of War Review

By James Cobb @ The Wargamer

UAVs aside, recent military action has been pretty low tech. Small units attack terrorist positions with flashbangs and small arms; conventional artillery and armor grind away at Mosul. No country has used all those exotic weapons they’ve been spending trillions on. Game developers need to create simulations using them or gamers may not be around to see how they work in games? How many computers will survive an EMP exchange? Postwar games probably won’t have much of a market waiting. The never-tiring team at Warfaresims has gotten a jump on Armageddon with the latest standalone expansion of Command Modern Air and Naval Operations (CMANO), Command: Chains of War. Will another level of lethal tech finally make players to cry “Uncle”?

Read on…

Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations Strategy and Wargaming | Donster | May 26, 2017 |

Ubisoft Announces Far Cry 5 is Coming to America’s Heartland on February 27, 2018

far-cry-5 Today, Ubisoft announced that gamers will experience the chaos, unpredictability, and ferociousness of the Far Cry franchise with Far Cry 5 on PlayStation®4 Pro computer entertainment system, PlayStation®4, the Xbox One family of devices, including Project Scorpio, and Windows PC. Set in America for the first time, in Montana, players will have total freedom to navigate this serene-looking yet deeply twisted world solo or entirely in two-player co-op as they fight for survival and freedom, when the game releases on February 27th 2018. Development for Far Cry 5 is being led by Ubisoft Montreal.

As the new junior deputy of fictional Hope County, Montana, players will find that their arrival accelerates a years-long silent coup by a fanatical doomsday cult, the Project at Eden’s Gate, igniting a violent takeover of the county. Caught off guard and drawn into a power struggle, players must disrupt the carefully laid plans of the Project at Eden’s Gate, and fan the fires of resistance to help liberate the Hope County community and themselves.

Under siege and cut off from the rest of the world, players will join forces with residents of Hope County and form the Resistance. The fight against the cult will take players to unique locations throughout Hope County that provide different gameplay experiences. During their journey, players can fly planes to engage cult forces in aerial dogfights across Big Sky Country. While tracking down cult members and gathering resources for survival across farmland, forests, mountains and rivers, players can get behind the wheel of iconic American muscle cars, big rigs, ATVs and boats. Vehicles also provide refuge when under attack by animals or as a way to quickly escape when things don’t go as planned.

To take down the cult, players will need to utilise any and all weapons at their disposal, including ranged weapons such as guns and grenades and melee weapons like a sledgehammer or baseball bat. Additionally, players can recruit Guns for Hire from a large cast of characters, or even Fangs for Hire, specialised animals like bears and cougars to complement players’ playstyles whether they’re going in stealthily or forcefully. How players approach each situation and the chaos they create in Far Cry 5 is up to them. Far Cry 5 will also see the return of the map editor, giving players the opportunity to create and play an infinite amount of new playgrounds. The map editor will include new features that add a new dimension to the content created by fans, with more details coming soon.

Click here to view the Far Cry 5 intro trailer, three character intro trailers, screenshots and more!

For the latest on Far Cry 5 and all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit www.ubiblog.com.

For more information about Far Cry 5, please visit http://farcry.com.

Far Cry 5 First-Person Shooters | Donster | May 26, 2017 |

Just Announced Hardware for 26 May 2017

Hardware | Donster | May 26, 2017 |

‘Escape from Tarkov’ Shows Off New Location, The Shoreline – Screens

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.

Escape from Tarkov MMORPGs | Donster | May 25, 2017 |