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Just Announced Hardware for 30 January 2015

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.

Hardware | Donster | January 30, 2015 |

To End All Wars Gets its First Expansion

“So long as the opposing forces are at the outset approximately equal in numbers and moral and there are no flanks to turn, a long struggle for supremacy is inevitable” (General Sir Douglas Haig – British commander)

Praised for its historical accuracy and its capacity to properly cover a huge conflict that involved thousands of men and units, Ageod’s WW1 wargame, To End All Wars, amazed history buffs last summer. However, the huge scale of the Grand Campaign was demanding a lot of time and a deep involvement from the players. So the developers went back to the WW1 battlefields and selected a list of smaller scenarios able to not only offer an original approach of the war, but also to provide true tactical operational challenges to their fans!

As a result, we are pleased to announce today a first expansion called Breaking the Deadlock, introducing some key confrontations of the Great War!

The game features five historical scenarios:

Serbia (1915) covers the decisive Central Powers offensive in Serbia dedicated to secure the area and build a safe and effective supply chain between Germany and the Ottoman Empire.
Rumania (1916) narrates the entry of Rumania into the war on the Allied side after having been neutral for 2 years, and the Central Powers rapid counterattack in the Balkan theatre.
Caporetto (1917) begins with the Germans sending support to the Austrian army on the Italian Front, resulting with some unconventional warfare tactics based on gas attacks and use of assault troops.
Palestine(1917-1918) the British and Ottoman Empires confront each other in the Middle Eastern theatre. Players will have to deal with logistic challenges and unusual terrain types to be victorious on this exotic battlefield.
1916 Campaign (1916-1918) is a fresh new starting point of the Grand Campaign. Victory has not picked her side yet!

The game is currently in a late beta stage and will be available on February the 24th.

Get more information on To End All Wars – Breaking the Deadlock from its official product page.

Strategy and Wargaming To End All Wars | Donster | January 28, 2015 |

Wargaming Reveals First Details about Grand Finals 2015

The 12 biggest names in World of Tanks set to compete in totally revamped eSports tournament format

Wargaming is excited to announce that the Wargaming.net League 2015 Grand Finals will be taking place on April 25–26 at EXPO XXI in Warsaw, Poland. Organized with support from the city of Warsaw, the event will see the 12 finest World of Tanks teams clash in a series of high-octane battles to determine who deserves the title of the world champion.

“The biggest WGL eSports event is about to start its engine,” said Mohamed Fadl, eSports Director of Europe and North America at Wargaming. “The recent revamp of tournament rules changed the surface of WGL eSports. Soon, we’ll see the best of the best meet in the final face-off in what’s set to be a breathtaking and action-packed Grand Finals.”

“I’m delighted that Warsaw, for a second time in a row, will be hosting the best World of Tanks pro players,” said Michał Olszewski, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw. “It’s thanks to the excellent cooperation and the great atmosphere of last year’s event that organizers decided to choose the Polish capital once again for the Grand Finals. The previous tournament gathered masses of spectators and I hope that this year will be another resounding success.”

Ahead of last season’s regional qualifiers, the Wargaming.net League introduced a revamped tournament format, coming up with Attack/Defense mode. The new setup and rules were developed in cooperation with pro gamers to strengthen gameplay and streamline objectives in eSports matches for World of Tanks.

Whether playing in attack or in defense, teams now have to take a proactive role in order to win, enhancing the tournament’s entertainment value. Having no chance of a draw, players must seize the initiative in battle to ensure victory. The teams had one season to refine their tactics and master the new setup.

During its first year, the Wargaming.net League has attracted over 200,000 pro gamers and hosted over 1000 tournaments. Drawing on the enthusiasm of Wargaming, its players and fans, the upcoming Grand Finals are set to be an even larger spectacle than last year’s event.

The 2015 Grand Finals will be free to the public, with a variety of prizes and exclusive giveaways for the most passionate spectators.

Click here for more information on the Wargaming.net League 2015 Grand Finals.

MMORPGs World of Tanks | Donster | January 28, 2015 |

Razer Launches Razer Arena – Competitive Gaming Ecosystem For Gamers

Razer, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, in partnership with Las Vegas-based Gaming-Grids, today announced the first phase launch of Razer Arena, a new competitive gaming ecosystem for everyone. The service will be powered by the voice chat gaming messenger, Razer Comms.

Razer Arena is a web-based platform that brings together competitive gaming tools typically reserved for professional-level gamers. With automatic match creation and reporting, tournament and match lobbies, match notifications, and more, Razer Arena provides a seamless experience without the hassle of uploading screenshots or replays. Razer Arena also allows match teammates and opponents to easily communicate.

In the first phase, users will be able to participate in daily challenge cups to get familiar with the tournament platform, as well as participate in tournaments produced by selected partners.

In the second phase, slated for March 2015, users will be able to host their own private tournaments. Successful Razer Arena tournaments may be featured alongside professionally organized events.

More information is available at the official Razer Arena Website.

Gaming | Donster | January 28, 2015 |

Acer XB280HK 4K G-SYNC Monitor Review

By Chris Heinonen & Jarred Walton @ AnandTech

When it comes to gaming, 4K displays present a conundrum (beyond 4K being used incorrectly, but I’ll still use it). On the one hand, all the extra pixels allow for far more detail. On the other, that is a lot of pixels to push for a GPU. Even with the best GPUs out there, you might – okay, will – have to disable certain features and start to introduce aliasing and other artifacts. A solution to this might be G-SYNC to enable gaming that looks smooth even when running below 60 FPS, and that’s what we’re looking at today.

G-SYNC, only available on video cards from NVIDIA, allows frame rates below the normal optimal speed of 60FPS to still look very smooth. The Acer XB280HK is the first G-SYNC display to also feature a 3840×2160 resolution. Unlike some other G-SYNC displays the Acer only runs at 60Hz and below, though I don’t believe running faster than 60Hz at 4K resolutions will be much of an issue right now. Anand previously reviewed G-SYNC and described the details of how it works.

Read The Review Here

Hardware Monitors | Donster | January 28, 2015 |

Just Announced Hardware for 28 January 2015

Hardware | Donster | January 28, 2015 |

Historical Article: Tokyo Firestorm

The US Strategic Bombing Campaign of Japan – Part 2

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

US Navy battleship and cruiser shells fell thick and heavy upon the Marianas island of Saipan’s landing beaches on the early morning of 15 June 1944. Well offshore, more than 300 LVT amphtrac landing craft carrying over 4,000 Marines cruised in circular formations, chasing each other’s rooster tails of spray emerging from the rear of their tracked amphibious landing vehicles. They were awaiting the “Go Order” to proceed ashore. At 0830 hours Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner gave that order and the LVT’s fanned out towards the Saipan shore. Somewhere off BLUE BEACH 2 a grizzled, flinty old pre-war Marine gunnery sergeant gave his neophyte troops his final orders. He shouted and pointed to a nearby track then running alongside. “Listen up you people! We’re crossing the final line of departure. That’s Lt. Smith’s amphtrack over there. When we get ashore, un-ass this vehicle as soon as we stop, get ashore and tie in with his herd! One other thing. Don’t get killed! That would make me most unhappy because you know how much I hate doing paperwork. Now lock and load and keep your damned heads down!” As the Marines loaded their M-1 Garand rifles, the old “gunny” put a five round clip into his much older Springfield 1903 bolt action rifle. He winked and grinned at the other Marines in the landing craft. All too soon and with a terrifying crashing suddenness, Japanese artillery and mortar shells began falling thickly and heavily around the Marine amphtracks as if someone had unzipped the very heavens above. Japanese anti-boat guns located in the still hidden pillboxes and caves ashore began taking an ever increasing toll of American landing craft. Meanwhile, Japanese artillery gun batteries located well behind the landing beaches began firing upon the incoming amphibious landing force. The sergeant’s LVT lurched to a halt at the water’s edge and the Marines aboard launched themselves over the vehicle’s gunwales onto the sandy beach, but there was no Lt. Smith or any of his men to be seen. His LVT lay still burning on the coral reef offshore like a number of so many other burning, broken toys out there, all of them victims of an anti-boat gun’s direct hit. A mortar shell concussion knocked down the gunnery sergeant, but aside from a few minor metal splinter cuts he was unhurt. As he brushed the black coral sand from his face, eyes and forehead, he looked up at the smoking, mountainous and craggy heights that lay far above and well behind the landing beaches. He shook his head and said incredulously. “How in hell are those doggy pricks going to build a B-29 bomber airfield way up there?”

Read on…

Military History | Donster | January 22, 2015 |

33 Things About Arma 3 Trailer

With a very exciting year ahead for its tactical military shooter, Bohemia Interactive today deployed a brand new trailer, highlighting some of the most impressive content and features in Arma 3.

Exploring the game’s core components, such as the 270 km² terrain, its selection of weapons and vehicles, and the in-game scenario editor, the video also takes a closer look at the more hidden details, such as the simulation of projectile ballistics, Arma 3’s many character stances, the accurate star map over Altis, and many more.

In addition, Bohemia Interactive posted a new dev blog revealing some of its plans for Arma 3 in 2015. Starting with the release of the Arma 3 Marksmen DLC in April, the studio will be adding new weapons, showcase missions, a new multiplayer mode, and several much anticipated platform features related to weapon handling. Later in the year Bohemia Interactive also aims to deliver a completely new and fresh terrain for Arma 3. More details are available in the ‘Scanning The Horizon: Arma 3 in 2015’ dev blog.

For more information about Arma 3, please visit the games official website.

Arma 3 First-Person Shooters | Donster | January 22, 2015 |

Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg Released on Steam

A not so Phoney War

1939-1940: The war machine is released. Plans for the invasion of Poland and Western countries have been carefully prepared by the German commanders. But the Wehrmacht effectiveness is still not proved and its opponents have some serious military assets. Speed and surprise are key success factors that armchair generals will have to master to seize Warsaw, Paris, and London … or the German troops will be sent packing back to Berlin!

Since its first release, the game has benefited from regular and in-depth support from the developers. Today, the game is reaching a new level with a release on the Steam platform, and we are very excited to be able to show this classic strategy title to a whole new audience!

In order to celebrate this important milestone, we are offering a 50% discount during the week of the launch! We are also going to offer a free Steam key to anyone who bought a copy of the game from the Matrix Games or Slitherine store, once the game is available on this digital platform!

Get more information on Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris from its official Steam page.

Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris Strategy and Wargaming | Donster | January 22, 2015 |

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Reviews

nvidia-geforce-gtx-960 NVIDIA has launched its new mid-range GeForce GTX 960 graphics card. This is the latest incarnation of NVIDIA’s Maxwell GPU. We have collected a large number of reviews and we’ve posted the links to them below for your convenience.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | January 22, 2015 |