The new episode of the Warplan Pacific Tour is now available. Find out how hidden naval fleets, communications intelligence and encrypted codes were added to Warplan Pacific to better represent the Pacific War.

Episode #4, Hidden Naval and COMINT

Also, the official PDF manual is now available! You can download it here.

If you are hungry for more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific, the second game in the Warplan series, will be released on April 29th.

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 Offers a Midnight Black Version of its Radeon RX 6800 XT Graphics Card
• Thermalright Intros TA 120 EX Tower-type CPU Cooler
• Cooler Master Offers MH670 Virtual 7.1ch Surround Wireless Headset
• Gigabyte Preparing Passively Cooled AMD X570S Motherboards
• Creative Announces SXFI AIR GAMER Wireless Headset
• COUGAR Outs Bronze Certified ARGB Power Supply in the VTE X2 ARGB Series
• XIGMATEK Intros the Aquarius S Wide Mid-Tower Case
• Gigabyte Shows Rather Weird Triangular Design Concept Graphics Card Cooling
• PNY Outs XLR8 GeForce RTX 3060 REVEL EPIC-X RGB Single Fan Edition Graphics Card
• Roccat Outs New Vulcan Pro Model Featuring the Fan-Favorite Tactile Mechanical Switch Feeling
• MSI Releases New Gaming Chairs MSI MAG CH130 X
• MSI Sells its 3 Millionth Gaming Monitor in 3 Years, Launches Limited Edition MSI Optix Monitor
• MSI Announces Gaming Desktops Powered by 11th Gen Core “Rocket Lake” Processors
• ELECOM Releases Membrane Gaming Keyboard with Integrated Volume Knob and Wrist Rest

Source: Blue’s News

BANDAI NAMCO announces new Experimental Aircraft DLC is coming to ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN, offering the chance to be a test pilot with the pack’s titular experimental aircraft. This includes three plans, new skins, and new emblems. The Announcement Trailer offers a look and the brief announcement adds in some details:

The sheer variety of playable aircraft has always been a cornerstone feature of the ACE COMBAT franchise and ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN continues that tradition. This latest incoming delivery of cutting-edge combat aircraft will arrive in spring 2021 and will feature “Experimental Aircraft,” including:

• F-15 S/MTD (The Boeing Company)
• F-16XL (Lockheed Martin Corporation)
• FB-22 Strike Raptor (Lockheed Martin Corporation)

All three experimental aircraft feature enhanced performance and attack capabilities. In addition to these three aircraft, new skins and emblems of enemy pilots and rival units from storied ACE COMBAT chapters of the past will be included with this latest “Experimental Aircraft Series” DLC package.

By Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

You know it, Corsair has been dominant with their high-end and flagship gaming keyboards. However, they’re still offering some very desirable keyboards in a far more interesting product category in that sub 70 USD space. With the new K55 RGB Pro (XT), Corsair wants to offer a board keyboard series that aesthetically and technically looks like the high-end models, at a far lower and fair price.

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.

• HyperX Adds Blue Mechanical Switches to Alloy Origins Core Gaming Keyboard
• Cougar Adds 1050W GTX1050 to GEX PSU Series
• Creative Announces Sound Blaster GC7 Gaming DAC and Amp
• Enermax Releases the MAKASHI II MKT50 Case
• Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 GAMING OC WATERFORCE WB 10G is Now Available
• Gigabyte Overclocks i9-11900K to 7.3 GHz with Z590 Tachyon
• Cougar Introduces Immersa TI EX Set of Surface-Mounted and Immersion Type Headsets

“Reconquista” The first DLC of Field of Glory II: Medieval brings the battles related to the Middle Ages in South West Europe.

Feudalism did not have such a dominant impact in Spain and Italy as it had in the rest of Europe and both these lands had unique factors which affected the conduct of warfare:

• Spain 1050, with more than half of the Iberian peninsula under the rule of Islamic states, the era of Christian Reconquista began. It would last until 1492, after centuries of clashes between Berber Empires (Murabits, Almohads and Hafsids) and Christian Kingdoms (Aragon, Castile y Leon, etc.).
• In Northern Italy the big cities formed the Lombard League to counter the attempts of the Holy Roman Emperor to enforce his authority over them. This was a part of the Wars between Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor and the Guelfs that supporting the Pope.
• In Southern Italy, the Normans rose from humble mercenaries to conquer the whole of southern Italy and establish the great kingdom of Sicily, after conquering the island from the Arabs.

These are the backgrounds, stories and wars that lead to the new DLC, which will include:

• 20 more nations and factions covering Spain, Italy and North Africa from 1040 AD to 1270 AD. These include Andalusians, Almohads, Arabs, Aragonese, Byzantine Catapanate of Italy, Castilians/Leónese, Catalans, Granadines, Hafsids, Italian Guelfs, Italian Ghibellines, Italo-Normans, Lombards, Marinids, Murabits, Navarrese, Papal, Portuguese, the Kingdom of Sicily and Tuaregs
• 41 more units and 45 more army lists
• 8 more historical scenarios covering key engagements of the period on an epic scale. These include Monte Maggiore 1041, Civitate 1053, Cabra 1079, Sagrajas 1086, Legnano 1176, Las Navas De Tolosa 1212, Montaperti 1260 and Benevento 1266.
• 33 more historical matchups added to Quick Battle mode, increasing the total to 98, playable from either side.
• 4 more historically-based campaigns covering major leaders and conflicts of the era: El Cid, Muhammad II of Granada, Normans in the South and Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
• Sandbox campaign expanded to include all the new army lists, allowing you to lead any nation (and their historical allies) against any other nation (and their allies) – giving thousands of permutations.

Find out more about Field of Glory II Medieval on the games the official product page or via Steam.

The first massive mod for Close Combat: The Bloody First is now available.

It is called Veteran and it was developed by a well-known modder in the community, Nomada_Firefox.

He took upon himself the task of converting maps from Close Combat: the Longest Journey, as well as adding a lot more content. We were so impressed with it that we have worked to bring this content into the game as an optional addition you can directly download from the games client.

Nomada_Firefox’s Veteran mod main features include:

• New content that covers the whole of the Normandy landings.
• Adds British and Commonwealth forces as well as many new units for US and German forces
• Two new campaigns, one Allied and one Axis
• Dozens of new battles and operations
• 20 new maps converted from Close Combat The Longest Day

You can now download the Veteran mod directly from the game’s download system by doing the following:

1. Click the button ‘User Content’ which will appear on the game main screen next to the game title.
2. Select the ‘Veteran Normandy’ mod from the ‘User Content List’
3. Click ‘Download.’

Last but not least, Close Combat: The Bloody First is currently part of our Easter sale: If you don’t have it yet in your game library, you can acquire it at 30% off by entering the “happyeaster30″ coupon code. The offer is only valid on the Slitherine and Matrix Games stores.

Stop by the official Close Combat: The Bloody First webpage for more game information!

Full version coming to Steam in Q2 2021

Independent developer CreativeForge Games will release Aircraft Carrier Survival on Steam in Q2 2021. The Prologue is being launched today for free.

Aircraft Carrier Survival is a simulator set in World War II in which you take control of the aircraft carrier, its crew, officers, and planes as you choose the right equipment, crew, and escort for each mission.

In Aircraft Carrier Survival you’ll have to focus on making the best decisions to survive in a hostile environment in the middle of the ocean. Plan your missions, target your enemies and keep most of your crew safe from attacks.

Manage crew and officers
Assign a crew and choose what your officers should focus on. Your ship has many stations to man, and proper management will be the key to executing your plan, whether by taking on an enemy directly, sneaking past them, or taking an alternative route to completely avoid contact.

Damage control
Your damage control teams can handle fire outbreaks, torpedo strikes, hull flooding, enemy bombardment, airstrikes, and suicide attacks from enemy planes, but not all of them at once. Assess which threats need to be dealt with first in order to survive.

Survive and fight back
Use maneuvers, aircraft, anti-aircraft turrets, and whatever else you can to survive the enemy attack. Make sure that any enemy who dares to attack you will end up in the depths of the Pacific.

Hard decisions
Will you risk all lives on the vessel to save the one in need? Do you have what it takes to make a decision on the spot? No matter what, some sacrifices will be necessary and the only source of redemption is victory.

Mission planning
Use intel collected during recon missions to prepare pilots and aircraft for large operations. Target enemy land bases and even their entire fleets. Identify opponents before choosing attack directions and deciding the sequence of targets and maneuvers.

Features

• Take control of an aircraft carrier in World War II.
• Manage the crew, the officers, and the planes.
• Choose the right equipment, crew, and escort for each mission.
• Survive in a hostile environment in the middle of the ocean and fight back against your enemies.
• Plan your missions, target your objectives and keep most of your crew safe from attacks.

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.

• ADATA XPG Unveils XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 SSD
• Team Group Launches T-Force Xtreem DDR4 Memory Optimized for 11th Gen Core
• ZADAK Announces TWSG3 M.2 NVMe SSD
• Cougar Releases MX660 Mid Tower Chassis with Extruded Mesh Front Panel
• Thermalright Rolls Out the 47mm-Tall AXP90-X47 Low-profile CPU Cooler
• G.SKILL Unveils its Extreme Speed Memory Kits
• Corsair Refreshes RMx Series PSUs with Magnetic Levitation Fans, Upgraded Warranty
• HyperX Sets DDR4 Memory Breaches the 7156 MHz Marker
• Kingston Introduces NV1 Entry-Level NVMe SSD

Leviathan Add-On Introduces New Diplomatic and Development Options

Not everything has to be brute force. Armies are necessary, of course, but there are other ways to succeed. Build a force of diplomats, for example, and use your flattery as a weapon against others. Or draw wealth and power from the remote regions of your realm to construct a metropolis to be the engine of your economy. You can try many new routes to global power in Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan, coming next month.

Leviathan is the newest expansion to Paradox’s grand strategy classic about the early modern world. The first release from the Barcelona based Paradox Tinto, Leviathan adds new options for diplomatic and economic play, and will be available to Europa Universalis players on 27 April 2021.

One of the highlights of Leviathan is the ability to use diplomatic Favors to gain benefits from other nations. If you post a diplomat to curry favor in a foreign nation, you will slowly build up enough diplomatic power to request material aid, changes in alliances and even the return of core provinces.

Other features of Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan include:

• New Regency Options: Regency councils represent the interests of the most powerful estate, and can be extended to delay the ascension of an unfit monarch.
• Specialized Colonial Nations: Let your colonies focus on military help, trade power or self-government.
• Concentrate Development: You can now steal development from your vassals or territorial possessions to enhance the power of your capital city.
• Pillage Capital: Loot an enemy capital as a condition of peace, hauling development back to the capital metropolis.
• Expand Infrastructure: Provinces can expand their capacity to build new structures and manufactories, allowing smaller nations to create centers of wealth for a modest cost.
• Centralize State: Reduce the cost of government by spending unused Reform points.
• Totemism: Nations that follow the Totemist religion can revere a pantheon of past leaders, earning bonuses that reflect the skills they had in life.
• Monuments: Expand and establish great projects, adding new bonuses to your empire.
• New Unit Models: New army sprites for Southeast Asian nations, including Indochinese, Indonesian and Polynesian nations.
• And more: Including the ability to carpet siege enemy provinces, draft transports as a plutocratic nation, watch heirs gain legitimacy as they wait to inherit the throne and other changes.

As usual, Leviathan will be accompanied by a major free update available to all Europa Universalis IV players. This update includes modifications to the maps of Southeast Asia and North America, with major gameplay changes for North American First Nations. It also adds Australian Aboriginal nations.

Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan will be available on 27 April 2021 at the Paradox Store and major online retailers for the suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

More game information is available at the Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan webpage, or on the expansions Steam page.