RPG

Record Sales for the Most Anticipated Game of 2015

Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, today announced that its award-winning game, Fallout 4, is generating record sales at retail outlets and via digital download for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and PC. Bethesda launched with approximately 12 million units worldwide to meet day one demand, representing sales in excess of $750 million. The collector’s edition, the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition, sold out within hours of its announced availability.

Major retailers have informed Bethesda of the tremendous consumer interest in Fallout 4, with some noting it was the most pre-ordered game this year. In addition, the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition was the fastest-selling collector’s edition of any game in history at leading retailers. Following the release, Bethesda was advised that launch day sales at some of the leading retail chains were the largest of any game released this year. Bethesda is now shipping more Fallout 4 units to retailers to meet ongoing market demand.

Digital sales of Fallout 4 are also breaking records. On Steam, Fallout 4 became the number one game played, surpassing the previous record for concurrent play with over 470,000 Fallout players. The companion app, Fallout Pip-Boy, became the number one game on the iTunes App Store. Fallout 4 also set the record as the most viewed game launch of all 2015 games, according to Twitch.

For more game information, visit the official Fallout 4 website.

Source: Blue’s News

Steam News announces that Fallout 4 is now available. They say: “Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, welcome you to the world of Fallout 4 – their most ambitious game ever, and the next generation of open-world gaming.” Here’s the rest of the game’s official description:

As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. Every second is a fight for survival, and every choice is yours. Only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Welcome home.

Key Features:

• Freedom and Liberty! Do whatever you want in a massive open world with hundreds of locations, characters, and quests. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone, the choices are all yours.
• You’re S.P.E.C.I.A.L! Be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system. From a Power Armored soldier to the charismatic smooth talker, you can choose from hundreds of Perks and develop your own playstyle.
• Super Deluxe Pixels! An all-new next generation graphics and lighting engine brings to life the world of Fallout like never before. From the blasted forests of the Commonwealth to the ruins of Boston, every location is packed with dynamic detail.
• Violence and V.A.T.S.! Intense first or third person combat can also be slowed down with the new dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S) that lets you choose your attacks and enjoy cinematic carnage.
• Collect and Build! Collect, upgrade, and build thousands of items in the most advanced crafting system ever. Weapons, armor, chemicals, and food are just the beginning – you can even build and manage entire settlements.

More game information is available at the official Fallout 4 website.

By Phil Savage @ PCGamer

If you’ve played a Bethesda RPG before, this will be nothing new. As Fallout 3 was to Oblivion, so Fallout 4 is to Skyrim—the post-apocalypse of a futuristic world trapped in a ’50s aesthetic, now available in Bethesda’s Creation Engine and boasting some interesting new features. But for all the improvements, the moment to moment experience is broadly the same. Journeying to one of the many undiscovered locations in your vicinity, you’ll kill enemies, pick locks, hack terminals, collect loot and experience a standalone vignette that weaves into the larger story of Boston after the bombs.

Read The Review Here

Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive today announced that Pillars of Eternity, the critically acclaimed computer role-playing game (CRPG) made possible by a record-setting crowdfunding campaign, has crossed a new milestone, and has now sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. Including fans who backed Pillars of Eternity on Kickstarter, over half a million players have purchased the game worldwide, making it one of the best-selling games on Steam this year. Pillars of Eternity has gone on to be one of the best reviewed PC games of 2015, and in addition to its two-part expansion The White March, Obsidian has plans to continue to expand upon its rich universe across several forthcoming releases.

“Every one of these milestones, from the completion of our crowdfunding campaign to the game’s release and beyond, is a surreal moment when you consider where this journey began,” said Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. “Pillars of Eternity has been a life-changing experience for me, and for everyone involved in its creation. Knowing that over half a million people have gotten to share in that is both flattering and humbling. I want to deeply thank all of our fans and supporters. We can’t wait to share what we’ve got next for the world of Eora.”

For more information on Pillars of Eternity, visit eternity.obsidian.net.

Source: Blue’s News

A new article on Bethesda.net outlines how character progression will work in Fallout 4. They offer a special S.P.E.C.I.A.L. chart along with a video, and a pretty detailed rundown on how the system will play out in the next installment in the RPG series. Here’s a bit:

What’s important is that each of these Perks is actually a mini Perk tree*, with multiple ranks that also do new things. Gun Fu above allows even more damage the more targets you select, increasing to instant Critical Shots. Gunslinger has ranks that up the range of pistols, add a chance to disarm enemies, and even instant limb crippling shots.

These additional ranks do require your character to be a higher level. This allows us to make some powerful Perk ranks that reward your investment in a certain SPECIAL as well as that individual Perk. It also allows us to fold Perks we liked from previous games into Perk ranks in this new system. For example, the Fallout 3 perk Paralyzing Palm (paralyze enemies through hand-to-hand), now becomes the Rank 5 Perk for Iron Fist. But you need to have chosen the previous 4 ranks of Iron Fist and be level 46. We also pushed old Perks to do new things at higher ranks. Strong Back doesn’t just up the amount you can carry; higher ranks of it allow you to fast-travel while encumbered or even run while encumbered at the cost of Action Points.

Also, Bethesda has released the third video in the Fallout 4 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. video series, titled “Endurance”. Click here to view it along with the first two videos in the series.

Get a quick look at Dogmeat in action in this video interview with Game Director Todd Howard.

Source: Gamer’s Hell

Bethesda Softworks offers a new Fallout 4 video showcasing this game developed for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC by Bethesda Game Studios under the direction of Todd Howard. Scheduled to arrive on November 10th, 2015, this game is the follow up to Fallout 3 and the first title from the studio since the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you will enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. First or third person combat can also be slowed down with the new dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S) that lets you choose your attacks and enjoy cinematic carnage.

Source: Blue’s News

Bethesda.net now offers a Perception trailer from Fallout 4, showing off the second element in the venerable SPECIAL system in the RPG series. They also have an article on player freedom in the game’s open world, offering a new trailer on the topic as well as a video on customization, crafting & modding, though most of this is footage was shot live back at E3. Here’s their accompanying write-up on that last topic:

From building in-game settlements via the Workshop system to creating new weapons with Bethesda Game Studios’ most advanced crafting system yet, to designing mods on both PC and console, Fallout 4 is all about customization. Yes, almost all of this is optional – but now there’s even more reason to explore the expansive wasteland in search of all kinds of handy components. “You rip apart the world, and then you can build what you want,” says Game Director Todd Howard. Watch our new video to find out why duct tape and glue might be more valuable than grenades in Fallout 4.

Source: Blue’s News

An article on Bethesda.net has details on how Fallout 4 will be supported, outlining plans for regular free updates, DLC, and modification support . Their roadmap includes a $30.00 season pass that will grant all the DLC Bethesda will release for their upcoming RPG sequel and their mod support will include the release (next year) of the Creation Kit for PC, which they say is the same tool they use themselves. Here’s word:

Regular Updates
We’ll be doing regular free updates to the game, and like Skyrim, these will come with not just fixes, but new features. For Skyrim we added things like mounted combat, legendary mode, kill cams, visual enhancements and more. We’ll work with all of you to figure out what new things you’d love to see added to Fallout 4, whether they are small tweaks or new features.

Mods & Creation Kit
The most important thing in our games is the freedom you have to create your own experience, and modding is a big part of that. Like all our previous games, we’ve made sure to keep Fallout 4 open and moddable at every step in development. Early next year we’ll release for free the new Creation Kit for the PC. This is the same tool we use in the studio. You’ll be able to create your own mods and share them with others. We’re especially excited these same mods will then be coming to Xbox One, and then PlayStation 4.

Downloadable Content
We’ve always done a lot of DLC for our games. We love making them and you always ask us for more. To reward our most loyal fans, this time we’ll be offering a Season Pass that will get you all of the Fallout 4 DLC we ever do for just $30. Since we’re still hard at work on the game, we don’t know what the actual DLC will be yet, but it will start coming early next year. Based on what we did for Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim, we know that it will be worth at least $40, and if we do more, you’ll get it all with the Season Pass.

Source: Eurogamer

Apparently concerned that the world is not nearly excited enough for its upcoming quirky indie game Fallout 4, Bethesda has launched a new web series based around the post-apocalyptic RPG’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats system.

The first episode is a note perfect parody of cheesy 1950s public information cartoons, starring our old friend Vault Boy as he learns the importance of “S for Strength” in surviving the Wasteland. There’s no gameplay footage in the series, but it’ll get existing fans back in the Fallout mood while explaining some of the core features of the Fallout series to newcomers.

It’s also hilariously gory.

Watch the Fallout 4 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Video Series – “S for Strength” video here.

Critically Acclaimed RPG Extends its Story with New Locations, Characters, and More

Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive has released the first of a two-part expansion to Pillars of Eternity, the role-playing game (RPG) phenomenon funded by over 70 thousand backers. The award-winning recipient for the Best Indy RPG at E3 2015 from MMORPG.com, “The White March: Part I” is the first addition to the critically acclaimed game, and includes an extensive array of new dynamic content for both Pillars of Eternity veterans and newcomers. White March expands the story and experience of the original game, adding new locations, quests, and companions to the world of Eora, as well as new gameplay features such as multi-class abilities, soulbound weapons, and a higher level cap, allowing players new ways to play in all areas of the game. The White March: Part I is available today as an add-on to Pillars of Eternity for Windows, Mac, and Linux PC for $14.99. A bundle with Parts I and II is available for $24.99, which will grant owners the second installment immediately upon its release.

View Eora in a way not yet seen before in a new launch trailer for The White March: Part I.

In The White March: Part I, Obsidian Entertainment continues the tale of Pillars of Eternity, an RPG inspired by classics of the computer RPG genre. Featuring an expertly crafted story from Carrie Patel, author of the Recoletta series and writer on the original Pillars of Eternity, and Eric Fenstermaker, lead writer on Pillars of Eternity and one of the co-writers of South Park: The Stick of Truth alongside show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the new expansion has new lore and challenges to explore. Set during the middle of the original game similar to the classic Tales of the Sword Coast, the new expansion can be experienced regardless if players have completed the core game or not. Players will venture into a new setting inspired by the snowy environments of Icewind Dale, and meet new companions including The Devil of Caroc, a construct rogue, and the scarred monk Zahua. Additionally, players can make use of new advanced party-based AI during combat and other adventuring challenges.

The White March: Part I is available for purchase at http://buy.pillarsofeternity.com/. For more information on Pillars of Eternity, visit http://pillarsofeternity.com/.