Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD today released the Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.6.1, just in time for two of the month’s big game releases. The drivers come with optimizations for “Mirrors Edge: Catalyst” and “Paragon.” The drivers also add CrossFire profiles for “Dark Souls III.” The drivers address more instances of flickering noticed on CrossFire machines playing “Fallout 4,” and performance drops in “DiRT Rally” in tracks with night/rainy settings.

You can download the Radeon Software Crimson Edition version 16.6.1 drivers 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.

• GIGABYTE Launches GeForce GTX 1080 XTREME GAMING Graphics Card
• HyperX Refreshes Predator DDR4 and DDR3 Memory
• Turtle Beach Announces the Elite Pro Line Of Gaming Audio Gear
• Aqua Computer Launches Kryogrphics Water Blocks for GTX 1080 and GTX 1070
• NVIDIA Vows to Fix GTX 1080 Founders Edition Fan Bug with Next Driver
• Thermaltake Reveals Pacific V-GTX 10 Series Water Block for GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• ROCCAT Releases Suora Frameless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – VIDEO

Heroes of The West Mod, Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45 Mod Updated

Tripwire is very pleased to announce that a brand new content update is now live for Heroes of the West, the official community-made mod for Red Orchestra 2/Rising Storm to coincide with the anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy on D-Day 72 years ago.

First made available in March of this year, Heroes of the West was created entirely by members of the community (as Kernow Interactive with support and assets from Tripwire and Antimatter Games) and showcases Tripwire’s commitment to its fans.

The update introduces 2 new maps, the first being a combined arms map featuring the British in a grueling fight to break out from the Normandy beachhead in summer 1944. The map, Caen Outskirts, introduces the British Bren Carrier troop transport.

The other map, Hill 400, recreates the bitter fighting in the winter of 1944 with the 2d Ranger Battalion struggling against Axis forces in the Hurtgen Forest.

There have been numerous balance, technical and cosmetic additions and fixes introduced in this update. To view a full changelog, please visit the Heroes of the West Steam Store Page.

For fans of the original Red Orchestra game, Darklight Games has also released a free update today for Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45. More information about that new update can be viewed on its respective Steam Store Page.

To celebrate the release, Tripwire is also kicking off a 75% off sale for Red Orchestra, Red Orchestra 2, and Rising Storm. The sale runs from Monday June 6 at 10AM PST/1PM EST through Wednesday, June 8 at 10AM PST/ 1PM EST.

Paradox’s Grand Strategy War Game Now Available

Paradox Development Studio returns to one of its most popular game series with the release of Hearts of Iron IV. This giant war game gives you control of any nation in the world during the chaotic years in and around World War II. Vast armies are yours to command, industrial infrastructures are yours to build and the far reaches of science are yours to research.

The Hearts of Iron series has always been one of the deepest and most sophisticated games about humanity’s greatest conflict. Hearts of Iron IV brings greater attention to the big picture of battleplans and sweeping troop movements, with a heavier emphasis on accessibility without losing the depth that fans have long admired.

As the world tension grows, you will be tested as a president, a commander and an industrial titan.

• Command the Great Powers: The seven strongest nations in the world come with exclusive National Focus trees to guide you through your new history
• Battleplan System: Set plans in advance for your armies and watch them execute their missions with the click of a button
• Two Historical Scenarios: Start the game with the explosion of war in 1939, or begin in 1936 to build up for the coming conflict
• Eleven Research Trees: Upgrade your weapons and vehicles, learn new military doctrines and unlock the mysteries of the atom and computing
• Change History: Can you bring the mighty Soviet Union to its knees? Get to Berlin by 1942? Build an alternate American empire in South America

Hearts of Iron IV is being released alongside the first minor power National Focus DLC, Poland: United and Ready which is available to all customers for free!

As well, the heavy metal band Sabaton, a popular group in the studio, has licensed a number of their World War II themed songs for a special Hearts of Iron music pack now available for purchase.
Take up arms in defense of your country, or sign up to impose your ideology on a hostile world. Hearts of Iron IV is here.

For more information on Hearts of Iron IV, check out the games official website.

New Trailer Shows Off 28 Minutes of Intense, Action-Packed Gameplay

Battlestate Games, developers of the much-anticipated military-themed FPS/MMO Escape from Tarkov, today announced the highly anticipated launch date for the game’s Closed Alpha. Aspiring combatants who have signed up for the Alpha (HERE) should keep a close watch on their inboxes for an invite as we get closer to the Alpha launch, as a select group of gamers will get their first hands-on taste of Escape from Tarkov’s furious battles starting on August 4.

Along with the news of the upcoming Closed Alpha, Battlestate Games has also delivered a 28-minute-long gameplay video, showcasing battlegrounds, weapons and combat, which can be downloaded at the links below.

Watch the video on YouTube HERE.

Sim155 Ltd. has announced that Combat Air Patrol 2 (CAP2) will launch today via Steam Early Access at (6pm GMT/12:00 PM Eastern USA). Check out what veteran programmer Ed Scio at Sim155 had to say about today’s release:

Well, this is early access launch day so I thought it’d be good to explain what to expect over the coming days, weeks and months. I have to admit its been a scramble to get ready for the launch though without a deadline I’d probably never get around to releasing CAP2. I’m looking forward to getting feedback, both good and bad. Bear in mind this is an Early Access title. For instance, the main strategic feature of CAP2, the dynamic campaign, is approximately 75% complete. There are lots of minor items on my release list which won’t make the 6pm (UK) release build so expect a stream of updates over the next few days. All elements will likely evolve with your feedback.

After the initial flurry of updates this week, we’ll run a general beta build for those of you who want to try new features/bug fixes as soon as they are available. Based on feedback we’ll then transition them to the main build. There may be several beta builds per week so only subscribe to those if you are OK with that. I’ll be primarily using this blog to keep you up to date with development.

Here are our main areas of upcoming development:

• Dynamic Campaign. We’ll be improving the dynamic campaign by adding more targets, enemy capabilities such as mine laying, offensive capabilities such as integrating Tomahawk strikes into a mission package.
• VR. Its been difficult to hold off starting on this, especially with all the recent buzz around the official launches but we managed to show some restraint. We’ve got the Rift kit, Vive is on the way so we should start on this next week. We’ll create a VR build which anyone can opt into. Initial builds will be a simple implementation followed by UI upgrades.
• Multiplayer. As described in previous posts.
• Rendering. Expect to see graphical improvements such as SSAO, DOF, self shadowing terrain, shadow casting vegetation.
• Carrier. We’ll create a fully populated deck and also have animated lifts, defenses and radars.
• Aircraft. Expect graphical updates to the AV8B cockpit together with increased control functionality.
• In Flight refueling. We have the animated refuel probe in game already, just waiting for drogue logic/physics implemented.
• Scenery. A high priority feature to be added is OSM (Open Street Map) data for accurate road and building generation.
• 3D Models. In addition to generated OSM scenery models we’ll be adding custom models not adequately described in OSM,
• Map Areas. We plan to add Yuma and well known training areas such as the ‘Mach Loop’ and the ‘Jedi Transition’.
• Satellite Imagery. We’ll begin sourcing satellite imagery to apply to the terrain.
• 32/64 bit build. We have both builds running now though as they are functionally identical only the 32bit is published. We’ll make the 64bit build available together with larger terrain cache sizes.

You can follow the development of Combat Air Patrol 2 on Facebook. Find out more about Combat Air Patrol 2 at the games official website.

Dick Cole, the man who copiloted the lead B-25 on the famous 1942 Doolittle Raid

By Michael Dolan @ HistoryNet.com

After he spent those 30 seconds over Tokyo that made him world famous, Richard Cole—Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot on the innovative April 18, 1942, raid against the Japanese capital—parachuted into China. With help he reached India where, for the better part of a year, he flew transport planes carrying cargo over the Himalayan “Hump” between New Delhi, India, and Kunming, China, and back, then transported glider-borne troops in an invasion of Burma.

Between those assignments Cole met, wooed, and wed fellow aviator Lucia Marta Harrell. Retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1966, the former B-25 pilot took up orange growing in Comfort, Texas. His neighbor Warren Reed—who once had been a P-38 pilot—was growing grapefruit. For 14 years, the two former airmen delivered produce to a circuit of customers. Now, at age 100, Dick Cole travels to aviation-related events, has closed down more than one hotel bar, and at home enjoys rummaging in his barns. He recently sat for a phone interview facilitated by daughter Cindy Cole Chal.

Read on…

(Originally published in the July/August 2016 issue of World War II magazine. Subscribe here.)

Starter Edition priced at $15/£12. Available only until June 19.

By Andy Chalk @ PCGamer

If you think Rainbow Six: Siege looks cool—and if you don’t, Shaun’s excellent “Why I Love” column on the sweet stress of waiting may change your mind—but don’t want to drop $50 just to give it a try, the new, PC-exclusive Rainbow Six: Siege Starter Edition might be just what you’re after. It’s available now on Steam for $15/£12, and includes all of the maps, modes, weapons, and other features from the standard edition, with no restrictions or time limits.

The only difference between the Starter and Standard Editions is in how the Operators are unlocked. The Starter Edition will include just two Operators instead of the usual 20, randomly chosen from a pool of six of the game’s most “intuitive” for newcomers: Rook, Sledge, Ash, Fuze, Mute, and Smoke. Additional Operators can be unlocked for 12,500 renown each (a much higher rate than the Standard Edition) or purchased outright with a $35 R6 Credits bundle.

The Starter Edition also comes with 600 R6 Credits that can be used to unlock two more Operators of your choice (from the pool of six) or on other stuff if you prefer, and it works with the Rainbow Six: Siege season pass, which gives access to eight post-release Operators that will be added over the course of the year.

So it’s Rainbow Six: Siege with fewer guys and more grinding, then, although if you’d like a more specific breakdown of what’s what, a Starter Edition FAQ is available here. There is one other point to be aware of, however: Even though this seems like a pretty good idea to me, the Starter Edition will only be on sale from today until June 19.

The Giant, a remake of Der Riese, one of the all-time fan favorite Treyarch Zombies maps, is now available for a la carte purchase for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The Giant was previously only available as a bonus, included with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Juggernog Edition, Hardened Edition and Digital Deluxe Editions, as well as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Season Pass. Now, however, the map is available as a stand-alone offering for eager Zombies fans.

The Giant takes players back to a secret research facility of Treyarch’s classic Der Riese Zombies map, picking up the Zombies story with classic characters Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen and Takeo.

Additionally, The Giant is now available for individual purchase on PlayStation 3, with availability on other last gen platforms to follow.

For more information, and to view the “The Giant” Zombies Bonus Map Trailer visit the Activision Games Blog.

NEW GAMEPLAY TRAILER AVAILABLE NOW

Just Cause 3: MECH LAND ASSAULT, the second content pack from the Air, Land and Sea Expansion Pass is out now for Expansion Pass Holders, and will go on sale as a separate add-on for everyone else on June 10th. To celebrate the release, the first new gameplay trailer has been made available today showing Rico causing chaotic destruction in brand new, gravity-defying ways.

MECH LAND ASSAULT takes Rico Rodriguez to the new island of Lacrima, home to an abandoned eDEN research base and a prison camp run by the mysterious Black Hand. Defended by huge powerful Mechs, Rico will need the new Bavarium Power Core rifle to disable their shields and hijack them. Once inside, Rico can use their powerful cannons and the GRIP Gravity Guns to hurl and smash the enemy into pieces.

Features:

• Pilot two types of powerful Mech and drive them anywhere in Medici.
• Unleash the Mech’s Gravitational Remote Influence Projector or “GRIP” to attract and hurl objects at your enemies.
• Jump and smash helicopters from the sky or ground pound tanks with the GRIPS’s “Force Pulse” attack.
• Prove your skills and earn upgrades in Mech arena challenges.
• Call in a Rebel Mech buddy for extra firepower when the going gets tough.
• Includes a powerful new energy weapon, the Bavarium Power Core rifle.

The MECH LAND ASSAULT pack is priced at $11.99 / €11.99 / £9.49 whilst the AIR, LAND & SEA Expansion Pass is available for $24.99 / €24.99 / £19.99. The final content pack – BAVARIUM SEA HEIST – will be released by the end of summer 2016, released one week early to Expansion Pass holders.

Watch the Launch Trailer on YouTube here.

More game information available at the official Just Cause 3 website.