Source: Blue’s News

A new patch is now available for Rainbow Six: Siege, updating the tactical shooter to version 2.2. Included are some measures intended to combat cheating, including a ranked kill cam, and the new version also includes spawn kill countermeasures, matchmaking improvements, and bug fixes. All the details are in the Ubi Forums, and here’s word on the anti-cheating stuff from the UbiBlog:

Rainbow Six: Siege is about to become a harsher environment for cheaters because Patch 2.2 is bringing a new wave of fixes designed to deter cheats and exploits, with a special eye toward keeping players from being killed as they spawn. The biggest addition is a “Report” button players can use to flag behaviors they think are suspicious. To help eliminate any confusion about whether an opponent cheated, kill cams are being introduced to ranked matches, letting players see for themselves whether any foul play was involved in their deaths.

Also, tweaks are being made to multiple spawn points across eight maps, in some cases altering scenery to protect Attackers from being immediately killed by Defenders. For example, the Oregon map’s Construction Site now features added fencing and a higher, now-bulletproof wall to keep Defenders from firing on Attackers at the start of the match.

Source: NVIDIA

In a week’s time Tom Clancy’s The Division will hit the streets, giving the keys to the game’s dilapidated New York City to the many people itching to play the massively multiplayer shooter after the record-breaking open beta.

On PC, The Division will be rendered at glorious detail at resolutions up to and including 4K, with extra effects, higher-quality assets, and PC-exclusive NVIDIA GameWorks technology that further improves fidelity and immersion. Get a great look in the Tom Clancy’s The Division GeForce GTX Technology Trailer here.

PC players will also receive the usual and expected benefits, such as faster framerates, ShadowPlay support, SLI support, G-SYNC support, DSR support, and multi-monitor support. There’s also the option to completely configure the in-game HUD, color blindness display modes, support for certain LED keyboards and keyboard effects, and support for Tobii EyeX eye-tracking, which is built into select GeForce GTX notebooks and can be purchased separately as a standalone device.

And of course, GeForce Experience Optimal Playable Settings will be available from launch, helping you configure the 90 detail levels found in The Division’s 20-plus settings with a single click.

Mare Nostrum Arrives in Port Soon

If you control the sea lanes, you control the trade. If you control the trade, you control the world. It all sounds so easy. But first you need guns and ships and men to man them. It’s one thing to protect your coasts, but another to project power beyond them. Are you ready to make the ocean yours?

Mare Nostrum is the new expansion DLC for Paradox Development Studio’s best-selling historical grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV. For those of you not up on your Latin, “mare nostrum” was the old Roman term for the Mediterranean – it means “our sea”, reflecting the Roman goal to dominate the sea to protect the food and riches that were rowed into its ports.

Mare Nostrum, therefore, takes its name from the major changes made to the naval game in Europa Universalis. For example, your coastal provinces produce sailors who will be needed to man and repair the warships and transports you have come to rely on. A new mission system for naval orders simplifies naval management, and the Barbary Coast nations of North Africa can now raid their neighbors for gold and sailor conscripts.

Other features of Mare Nostrum will include:

• Condottieri: Rent out your soldiers as mercenaries to give an underdog a fighting chance while filling your treasury
• Trade Leagues: For merchant republics, the power of the purse is amplified by creating economic and military alliances
• Share Maps: Instead of waiting for the world to come to you, ask your friends if they have discoveries they are willing to share.
• PLUS changes to diplomacy, subject nation management and much more, including the usual major patch that will be a FREE upgrade to all EU4 owners.

Mare Nostrum will be available soon from major digital retailers and the Paradox store.

View the Europa Universalis IV: Mare Nostrum announcement trailer here.

Author: Daniel Dobrowolski @ HardOCP

GIGABYTE’s GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE is touted as the ultimate Z170 “Super OverClock” solution from GIGABYTE. It also offers an impressive array of features for the enthusiast and gamer alike. 22 phases of digital power, cool new OC Touch buttons, metal shielded PCIe slots, pretty lights, and an impressive set of three PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors!

Read The Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA released the latest version of its GeForce software. Version 362.00 WHQL comes game-ready for the hardware-intensive “Far Cry Primal,” and “Gears of War Ultimate Edition.” This includes performance optimizations, SLI profiles (if supported), and GeForce Experience optimal settings for the two games. The drivers are also optimized for the latest update of “Dying Light.”

You can download the new GeForce 362.00 WHQL drivers from GeForce Experience and GeForce.com.

Source: Legit Reviews

The Radeon Technologies Group (RTG) has released Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.2 video card drivers (version 15.301.1901). The new drivers have been optimized for Ashes of the Singularity Beta 2 and Benchmark 2.0 as well as the SteamVR Performance test. AMD has also resolved about 16 issues with many being in Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, so if you are playing those game titles you’ll want to update for sure. Crimson 16.2 drivers also includes Crossfire Profiles for The Division and XCOM 2. You can download the latest driver 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.

• AMD Announces the A10-7890K and Athlon X4 880K Processors
• AOC Reveals Q2775PQU 27-Inch Monitor
• Samsung Electronics Unveils Three New 1,800R Curvature Displays
• AMD Radeon Fury X2 Reference Air Cooled?
• MSI Launches B150M Gaming Pro Motherboard
• Alphacool Announces ‘Eiszapfen’ Quick Connect Couplings

Join the Worldwide Event to Compete for Loot and Premium Levels

Developer Obsidian Entertainment and publisher My.com are proud to announce that the newest update is now available on Armored Warfare. This update includes new Asian machines of destruction that will battle in close quarter combat in the coastal urban areas of the newest map for PvP. Zhang Feng, Armored Warfare’s latest Arms Dealer, will update player garages with Main Battle Tanks to change military conflict zones across the globe. There has not been a better time for players to engage in the challenging, fast-paced action of Armored Warfare.

View the video here.

Features introduced with update 0.13:

• Originating from China, a rising new arms dealer named Zhang Feng and his roster of dangerous Main Battle Tanks are available for all Commanders.
• Developed as a brand new indigenous tank that would be different from anything previously built in China, the WZ-1224 is a Tier 5 Premium MBT.
• Changes will be made so rewards in PvE function more similarly to PvP in order for the systems to be equitable and beneficial.
• Updates to the matchmaking system will provide an overall better experience and more balanced matches.
• further enhancements and changes to in-game systems to streamline player experience.
• This 1200×1200 meter map consists of several regions that offer plenty of space to flank your opponents – the southern bay area and the north offer wide arcs of fire, while the city can be used by heavier and slower vehicles to advance under cover.

Along with the newest update, both the European and the North American server Tank Commanders will be able to join one of the mercenary teams and seek glory and profit until March 6, 2016. Side with the White Lancers, led by cunning, former Colonel Jacek Kowalski, or show your allegiance to the Hellhounds mercenaries, led by ruthless Colonel Hans Krieger. Players fight for the cause and help their favorite leader rise to swift military domination! Support the Polish led or the German led mercenaries, and fight for a share of the profit. After the registration your choice cannot be changed! Register here.

The event will be split into three rounds (lasting roughly a week each) in a best-of-three playoff format. During each round, both teams will accumulate reputation, the sum of which will be displayed on the Armored Warfare website. Please note that only raw reputation counts, Premium Time does not affect the results. At the end of Round 1 and Round 2, the winner for the round will be announced and the overall score will be tracked, but the reputation gained will be reset for the following round. The mercenary team that manages to first win two full rounds will be declared the overall winners.

Check out the mercenary video here.

You can download the game for free and get more information at the official Armored Warfare website.

Steam Workshop included!

Since its first release, Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations (CMANO) has redefined the expectations of the modern combat wargaming community. Thanks to its immensely powerful built-in scenario editor, a huge collection of community scenarios have been made available and enjoyed by the legions of CMANO players.

Today, developers Warfare Sims are proud to present their next step: version 1.10, a huge update which includes, among other features, Steam Workshop integration: players can now upload, browse and download content directly via Steam!

Steam integration is but one of the major new features requested by the players and implemented by Warfare Sims. Other hallmarks include:

• Waypoints for cruise missile attacks: Plan and execute complex, multi-leg cruise missile strikes just like on real-life ops in Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere!
• Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC/NIFC-CA): “Blind” cooperative missile shots and other abilities that will show you exactly why the US Navy and other armed forces are spending billions on this technology.
• Electronic warfare modelling improvements: The giant chess game of electronic sensors, countermeasures and counter-countermeasures gets knocked up another notch!
• Improved ABM modelling: The new theatre ballistic missiles and ABMs are not your father’s Scuds and Patriots – see first-hand how modern ABM systems engage more capable ballistic missile threats more effectively.
• One-click EMP strikes: Now even aunt May can shut down your country with a well-placed high altitude flash. And you thought GoldenEye was just a James Bond gimmick.
• Aircraft kinematics improvements: Heavy loadouts now don’t just increase drag, fuel consumption and radar return, they also directly drag down your aircraft’s kinematic performance. So go easy on the heavy bomb racks, ace.
• New Scenario Editor and Lua features: Even more power and flexibility to transform your ideas into scenarios and share them with CMANO’s global user community – from armchair hobbyists all the way to defence professionals.

To see how to use Steam Workshop and to check the full list of changes, you can follow this link!

Get more information about Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations from its official product page.

Stretch Goals are now LIVE!

Developer Bulkhead Interactive have announced the eagerly awaited Stretch Goals for the successfully funded World War 2 shooter ‘Battalion 1944’ including responding the community requested British and Russian forces as well as new competitive maps based on the events of D-day. At the time of writing the game is currently 247% funded on Kickstarter with 6 days left to go and Bulkhead have just released a new stretch goal reveal trailer.

For £325,000 the British forces will join the fight with full character sets, animations and cosmetic variation alongside iconic British weapons such as the Lee-Enfeild bolt action rifle and the Sten sub-machine gun. For a further £400,000 the Eastern front will be added to the game, with entire character sets for the The Red Army and German Wehrmacht of the eastern front and will include gritty Soviet favourites such as the PPSh-41, all the way to the Mosin-Nagant used by the famous female Russian snipers of WW2, raising the bar of authenticity and acknowledging the role that women played in the defence of cities like Stalingrad and Moscow and in the destruction of The Nazi Regime in Europe.

If both British and Russian stretch goals are hit, Battalion 1944 will allow players to fight in maps based on both the British and Russian campaigns, expanding Battalion’s competitive map pool to include historical battlegrounds from around the world.

Bulkhead Interactive are also planning on implementing an offline ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ mode, in which players can play competitive maps offline against AI bots and compete for high scores against their friends.

Other interesting stretch goals include; a ‘Currahee Bootcamp’ training map where players can practice or learn the weapon mechanics and movement in an offline environment. A competitive map focused on the events of D-Day, as well as even more cosmetic unlocks and character variation for the main game. For £600,000 the team even aim to add The Pacific Theatre to the game, giving Battalion a breadth of environments to choose from when it comes to competitive map design. The entire list of stretch goals can be seen on the Battalion 1944 Kickstarter page.

Finally, one of Battalion 1944’s most requested features was a single player campaign, which would require a significantly larger development budget. For £1.2 million players will be able to experience events from the allied campaign from the eyes of the soldiers themselves in a fully-fledged single player mode.

“We’ve been closely listening to all the comments we’ve received from the Battalion community, and we’re responding directly through our stretch goals. This was the reasoning behind waiting so long for stretch goals, to give us a chance to listen to our community. We’ve taken the most requested community features and added them to our development checklist with realistic funding goals. This is the sort of money that can help us challenge the modern shooters.” – Joe Brammer, Executive Producer at Bulkhead Interactive.

All the funding received through Kickstarter will be put directly into overall budget of the game. Battalion 1944 was also recently Greenlit on Steam, receiving 18,417 votes from the community to become officially greenlit in just over 1 week.

Watch the Battalion 1944 Final Sprint Trailer here.

More game info available at the Battalion 1944 website.