First-Person Shooters

Better performance and crisper colors with new ‘Engine Room’-update.

Performance is key when making a difference in World War 2 as portrayed in the MMOFPS Heroes & Generals. This is something the game developers at Reto-Moto are acutely aware of and one of the major reasons for introducing a new render engine for the game.

“Our community has been very active and helpful in testing the new render on our prototype servers. We have seen a 20 percent framerate improvement on average, and 70 percent of the players that took part in latest test of the new render reported either a better or much better performance,” says Henning Semler, Lead Render Programmer and co-founder of Reto-Moto.

Heroes & Generals is running on its own proprietary technology called Retox. The ‘Engine Room’-update is the result of a complete rewrite of the render engine optimizing it for a modern dataflow by using advanced multi-threading techniques so it better utilizes multiple CPU-cores, improving game performance.

Another reason that Heroes & Generals is seeing a general boost in performance is the decision to end support for DirectX 9 based graphics cards as the old technology in part served as a hindrance to game performance.

Heroes & Generals now supports mixed resolution rendering making it possible for players to keep the user interface at a higher resolution while playing with low resolution gameplay setting to further increase performance on low spec computers.

In addition to the improvements in performance, the ‘Engine Room’-update also introduces a new tone mapping system providing crisper and more saturated colors in the game. As well as Temporal Anti-Aliasing giving players a more stable image with less pixel flicker when in motion.

As part of the ‘Engine Room’-update players also have been given the option to try out a new DirectX 12 experimental setting.

Heroes & Generals is now translated into Brazilian Portuguese bringing the total number of language options for the game to nine.

The full changelog for the ‘Engine Room’-update can be found here.

Heroes & Generals is available for free at HeroesAndGenerals.com.

Square Enix Collective®, the platform that brings diverse and quality indie titles to market, has inked a deal with Derby-based Bulkhead Interactive™ to exclusively publish ‘old-school’ multiplayer WW2 shooter Battalion 1944 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

This time last year Battalion 1944 smashed its crowdfunding campaign with a promise to recapture the core action of classic multiplayer FPS game and propel WW2 into the next generation. Having grown up playing the sensational WW2 shooters from the turn of the century, the designers at Bulkhead Interactive have utilized the most up-to-date industry technology to create a visceral and heart-thumping multiplayer experience featuring raw, skill-based infantry combat across tight, focused, and competitive maps.

After the huge success of last year’s The Turing Test™, Bulkhead Interactive chose once again to partner with Square Enix Collective for their latest title. Fans are the heart of multiplayer games and by choosing to work with Square Enix Collective, Bulkhead Interactive knows the task of expanding and nurturing Battalion 1944’s community is in very experienced hands.

To announce their partnership, the team at Bulkhead Interactive released this video explaining why Square Enix Collective is the ideal publisher for Battalion 1944.

Fight in real world locations such as the streets of Carentan, the forests of Bastogne and many more in our spiritual successor to the great multiplayer shooters of the past. Precise aim with your Kar98, covering fire with your M1 Garand and quick thinking with your Thompson are key to your success, all packaged into a competitive multiplayer environment. In short, Battalion 1944 is an infantry based first person shooter with an emphasis on raw skill. No grinding, no ‘exosuits’, just you and your skill as a player.

More game info available at the Battalion 1944 website.

Today, Ubisoft® announced Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the largest action-adventure open world game ever created by Ubisoft, is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. You can watch the official launch trailer here.

Developed by Ubisoft Paris*, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a military shooter entirely playable in up to four player co-op or single-player from beginning to the end. Players have total freedom of choice to accomplish their missions how they want and watch as the world reacts to their actions. Players can choose to move quietly in the night, go in hot at dawn, or work together to execute a sync-shot that takes out enemies in one fell swoop. Each choice has a consequence, and players must improvise or adapt their plans to ensure the completion and success of each mission.

In Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, players will discover a fictional Bolivia, a few years from now, in which players must take down the Santa Blanca drug cartel by any means necessary. Behind enemy lines, players will hunt down targets and discover intel with the help of over 60 vehicles, which include cars, motorcycles and even helicopters that they can commandeer. To topple the cartel, players will have to fight their way to El Sueño, Santa Blanca’s ruthless leader, by breaking down the Santa Blanca Cartel’s operation piece by piece as they sever alliances between the drug lords and the corrupted government.

For the latest on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit www.ubiblog.com.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, please visit games official website.

Developers Share Information on Design Process and Evolution of Upcoming Tactical FPS, Answer Fan Questions This Friday

Tripwire Interactive is excited to return to PAX East this weekend with an exclusive panel on their upcoming hardcore tactical first-person-shooter, and sequel to the smash hit Rising Storm, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam. Key members of the Tripwire team will be discussing how the design process for the game has evolved, as well as what’s in store for the game as it progresses towards its launch later this year. Fans in attendance will be able to participate in a Q&A with the developers and earn a chance to win some swag, so be sure to stop by for the latest information on this highly anticipated title! Fans can also watch a livestream of the panel here on Twitch.

More game info can be found on the official Rising Storm 2: Vietnam website.

CI Games, creators of the Sniper: Ghost Warrior and Lords of the Fallen series of games, has announced that Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 will be delayed until Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

After some internal discussion with the development team, a decision was made to delay the release three more weeks to complete some final implementations based on feedback CI Games received during the beta.

“We’ve worked tirelessly creating a whole new Sniper Ghost Warrior experience set in an ambitiously crafted open world new to the series,” said said Marek Tyminski, CEO of CI Games. “While it’s an unfortunate decision to delay the game one last time, we believe these final changes will result in a better experience for players worldwide on day one. Thank you for your patience – we know the wait will be worth it.”

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 tells the story of brotherhood, faith and betrayal in the most complete sniper experience ever. Take the role of an American sniper named Jonathan North, who is dropped into enemy territory in northern Georgia, nearby Russian borders. Explore large open-world maps with dynamic weather and a day and night cycle that actually impacts play and decisions. Customize weapon equipment, accessories, vehicles and a drone, and utilize the three pillars of gameplay to your liking: Sniper, Ghost and Warrior.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 launches on the PlayStation®4 system, Xbox One and Windows PC on April 25, 2017. To learn more about Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, visit the games official website.

Take a look at some of the PC specific visual options and tools in Ghost Recon Wildlands. Content captured by Geforce GTX from NVIDIA.

Source: Gamers Hell

Ubisoft has released a new video for the latest entry in the Ghost Recon series and the franchise’s first open world title due to be launched on March 7th, 2017, for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Developed by Ubisoft Parisin collaboration with Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Milan and Reflections, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a military shooter set in a massive and responsive open world, entirely playable in single-player or up to four-player co-op. Players will discover Bolivia a few years from now, a country turned into a narco-state by the vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel.

Sent behind enemy lines, Ghosts will have to cripple the Santa Blanca cartel’s operation, breaking alliances between the drug lords and the corrupted government, and saving the Bolivian population from the cruelty of El Sueño, Santa Blanca’s ruthless leader. To do so, players will have a total freedom of choice to accomplish their missions how they want and watch as the world reacts to their actions.

Sabotage, the First DLC Map Pack for the Game, Features Four New Multiplayer Maps, Including Re-imagined Fan-Favo urite Modern Warfare 2 Map, Afghan

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Sabotage, the first DLC pack for the game, is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Sabotage delivers four new, epic multiplayer maps, including the return of one of Call of Duty’s most famed maps from Modern Warfare 2, Afghan, re-imagined for a new generation. The new DLC pack also features “Rave in the Redwoods,” the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience that continues the macabre narrative and takes players into a new decade: the 1990s.

Rave in the Redwoods takes fans through a new storyline taking place in an abandoned lakeside summer camp. The four playable characters return, and are voiced by the same actors from the original story, but now take on fresh, over-the-top roles from the ‘90s era including “the Hip Hop Wannabe,” “the Kandi Raver,” “the Grunge Rocker,” and “the Westside Gangsta.” Willard Wyler, the enigmatic movie director villain, has once again trapped them inside a twisted horror movie where the protagonists must fight the undead against zombie ravers who have turned the campgrounds into a techno-fueled nightmare.

In addition to the Rave in the Redwoods zombies content, Sabotage also includes four new multiplayer maps:

• Renaissance – Set in Northern Italy, Renaissance pits players against each other on the narrow streets of Venice surrounded by classic architecture and buildings. The map promotes continuous action through the canals and neighbourhoods of this iconic city.
• Noir – A dark, grimy city map inspired by futuristic Brooklyn at night, Noir is a classic three-lane map set against a backdrop of a dystopian future. Noir is filled with cafes and parks surrounding a brutal downtown warzone.
• Neon – A virtual training centre designed for urban warfare, Neon is a unique, digitised battle arena where cars and other structures spawn out of thin air and enemies dissolve into hundreds of pixels when defeated. Middle-lane sightlines cater to long-range players, while the perimeter of the map allows for quick counter-attacks in close-quarter action.
• Dominion – A re-imagining of the classic Afghan map from Modern Warfare®2, now set on Mars, Dominion retains all the memorable landmarks and gameplay of the original. Anchored by the crashed ship in the centre, Dominion offers enhancements designed to fully engage the new movement system of Infinite Warfare.

The Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Sabotage DLC Map Pack is available now for a great value via the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Season Pass, which can be purchased on its own or obtained as part of the Legacy Pro or Digital Deluxe editions of the game. The Season Pass gives discounted access to four Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare DLC Map Packs released during 2017. Season Pass owners receive 10 Rare Supply Drops upon purchase plus 1,000 bonus Salvage Credits to craft new prototype weapons, as well as immediate access to the R-VN Energy Rifle base weapon for use in the game’s multiplayer and zombies modes.

*DLC map packs are not currently sold individually on the PC.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

By Tyler Wilde @ PC Gamer

I tried playing Sniper Elite 4 as a pure stealth game, carefully sneaking past patrols and waiting for a plane to roar overhead to mask the crack of my rifle as I debrained my first fascist officer. But a little while later some wandering putz spotted me and so I sniped him, too. And then my minimap turned red and everyone got all aggro and so I just went ahead and sniped them all. Cut to me standing at the top of a lovely hill on the Italian countryside with a brand new moat of bodies at its base.

Sniper Elite 4 became much more fun when I started treating it less like a stealth game and more like a shooter with some sneaking. It isn’t as playful or full of gadgets as Hitman or Metal Gear Solid 5. You can lure enemies out of cover with sound and set explosive traps on bodies, but there are no boxes to hide in and no non-lethal options. I wouldn’t expect any in a game that delights in slow-mo x-ray shots of bullets crashing into foreheads and tumbling out the backs of skulls. That’s the Sniper Elite way, and it’s never been better at doing its own thing than it is in Sniper Elite 4.

Read on…

GATHER YOUR SQUAD OF UP TO 4 PLAYERS AND START THE FIGHT FOR THE WILDLANDS

Today, Ubisoft® announced that the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands Open Beta will be available to all players from February 23rd to 27th, 2017, on current-gen consoles and PC. Players eager to jump into the Ghost’s boots and tame the Wildlands will be able to pre-load the Open Beta starting this Monday, February 20th, 2017.

Each player entering this Open Beta will get access to an exclusive mission – the “Unidad Conspiracy” mission, in which players will spark a war between the Unidad, a local corrupt militia group, and the Santa Blanca cartel – by playing the full game before March 31st, using the same Ubisoft account.

The Open Beta will introduce players to two provinces among the 21 of the final game: Itacua, a flourishing and mountainous province where the grip of the cartel is looser, ideal to perfect your sniping skills and get introduced to the Wildlands. Montuyoc, set in the snowy Altiplano, and the second province available in this Open Beta, is much more challenging – players who have suppressed the Itacua bosses will gain XP and skills boosts allowing them to face this dangerous area, home to Santa Blanca elite training centers. Players can of course confront Montuyoc right away… at their own risk.

As in the full game, all the content in the Open Beta will be playable with up to three friends on the same platform via four player co-op, or in single player. Players are free to utilise a large variety of vehicles, tactical equipment and weapons to get the job done.

Set in the largest action-adventure open world ever created by Ubisoft, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands takes place in Bolivia, a few years from now, as the country has been turned by the vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel into a narco-state. Players are tasked with eliminating the cartel by any means necessary. The massive and responsive open world encourages a variety of playstyles, allowing players the freedom to choose how they execute any and all missions.

The Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands PC Specs and System Requirements have also been announced today, along with a new “Open Beta” trailer, so please visit Ubiblog to get the full details and watch the trailer!

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, please visit the official Ghost Recon: Wildlands website.

Source: Kotaku

Numerous changes are coming to Battlefield 1 as part of a winter update. Alongside the expansion pack They Shall Not Pass, the game will see changes to class rankings and the addition of combat ribbons.

In a blog post today, the Battlefield 1 team outlined some new additions that will come in the game’s winter update. Chief among these are combat ribbons. In previous titles, ribbons were in-game commendations given to players for completing certain tasks in a round.

Read more and watch the “New Guns” video hosted by Kotaku.