Sony Interactive Entertainment has just announced the PS Plus games for May 2020: Farming Simulator 19 and Cities: Skylines – PlayStation 4 Edition. These disparate simulation titles will be competing for your precious time. And it seems like both will be worth it!
Paradox Interactive's award-winning city-management sim was met with generally positive reviews on Metacritic (with exception to the Switch version). We gave the PC version a 9.5/10. We said, "Cities: Skylines brings the city building genre back after its near demise from other series' flawed game releases. The inclusion of large game maps, natural resources management, addictive progression system, and all of it running at a near-flawless technical performance make Cities: Skylines the new standard in city building games."
Very few games, of any genre, are able to elicit such high praise from this team.
Farming Simulator 19's reception is slightly more mixed, with an accumulated 64 MetaScore for the PS4 version. Although Gaming Nexus didn't post a review for this particular entry, perhaps this farming simulation could be up your alley. For a total (non-sale) price of $79.98 between the two, seems like a solid deal regardless.
Keep an eye on Gaming Nexus for any PS Plus updates.
By: lmehr@gamingnexus.com Title: May PS Plus has your urban and rural simulation needs covered Sourced From: www.gamingnexus.com/News/44604/May-PS-Plus-has-your-urban-and-rural-simulation-needs-covered/
SteelSeries has made some fine headsets in the past and I still currently use H Wireless. With the upcoming release of Cyberpunk 2077, SteelSeries has partnered up with CD PROJEKT RED and announced a few new headsets and some accessories that tie into the game.
The Arctis 1Wireless for Xbox Johnny Silverhand Edition is a wireless Xbox One headset named after Keanu Reeves' character in the game. Wireless connection is achieved via a USB-C dongle that transmits over 2.4GHz and it can also be used with the PC, Switch, and Android device. You get a two cool designs on the cups as well as the word Samurai on top of the headstrap.
Limited supplies of the Silverhand Edition will be available while a non-branded one will be out later in the Spring. Cost of the Actis 1 Wireless will be $109.99.
For PS4 gamers, there's the Arctis 1 Wireless Netrunner Edition which also has a USB-C dongle transmitting at 2.4GHz. With a different design, the Netrunner Edition is designed for the Sony gamer in mind but can also be used on the PC, Switch, Android and Xbox One device with an included 3.5mm cable. It's also going to be $109.99.
If you want to deck out your Actis headsets with other designs, three Cyberpunk 2077 style headbands and earplates are going and will be usable on the Arctis Pro, Actis Pro + GamerDAC, and the Arctis Pro Wireless for $34.99.
All told, these look like some nice headsets designed for a very highly anticipated game and should be out soon.
By: jyan@gamingnexus.com Title: SteelSeries partners with Cyberpunk 2077 and intros two new headsets Sourced From: www.gamingnexus.com/News/44601/SteelSeries-partners-with-Cyberpunk-2077-and-intros-two-new-headsets/
It’s been quite the couple of months for Sony and Naughty Dog. First, The Last of Us Part 2 was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The game was subsequently removed from the PlayStation Store with all digital pre-orders refunded. Of course, then a huge amount of story spoilers leaked and the game received a new release date.
So it’s the right time to bring The Last of Us Part 2 back to the PlayStation Store with pre-orders available once again. There’s still 1.5 months to try and avoid all the spoilers out there but at least the game is coming. So pre-order away.
The Last of Us Part 2 will be releasing on June 19th for PS4. It follows the tale of Ellie on a quest for vengeance with mysterious cult members and the Infected providing a major obstacle in her journey. Stay tuned for more details and some hopefully official gameplay footage before its launch.
By: Ravi Sinha Title: The Last of Us Part 2 Pre-Orders Available Again on the PlayStation Store Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/the-last-of-us-part-2-pre-orders-available-again-on-the-playstation-store Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:19:59 +0000
Paradox Interactive has announced Expansion Pass 2 for Stellaris: Console Edition, bringing three more DLC packs to PS4 and Xbox One owners. These are the Synthetic Dawn Story Pack, Humanoids Species Pack and the Apocalypse Expansion. Check out the trailer below.
Synthetic Dawn introduces the Machine Empire and allows players to have a civilization composed entirely of robots (which is great for production). Humanoids brings in new portraits and ships while Apocalypse lets you build some powerful super-weapons to use against the opposition. Expansion Pass 2 hasn’t been priced yet but it will become available on May 12th.
The Synthetic Dawn Story Pack will release on the same day – release dates for the other DLC have yet to be confirmed but Apocalypse will be next. Of course, those playing on PC can access all of the above DLC and much more. The latest expansion for PC is Federations which introduces Senates and many more diplomacy options.
By: Ravi Sinha Title: Stellaris: Console Edition – Expansion Pass 2 Announced, Out on May 12th Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/stellaris-console-edition-expansion-pass-2-announced-out-on-may-12th Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 11:19:32 +0000
Sony’s history with controllers is as illustrious as it is infamous, encompassing some of the bigger innovations and embarrassments in the industry. With the unveiling of the DualSense, the controller for the next-generation PlayStation 5 console, we thought it would be nice to look back on the evolution of PlayStation controllers throughout history. Funnily enough, the company’s illustrious DualShock line-up didn’t actually launch with the PlayStation One. It all started in the beginning with what was succinctly named the PlayStation Controller.
Much has been said about Sony’s deal to work with Nintendo and develop a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES. This would spiral into a standalone console known as the PlayStation and the creation of the PlayStation Controller. While taking inspiration from the SNES controller, Sony’s creation would have several key differences – the use of shapes to denote its action buttons, two sets of shoulder buttons and grips to make it easier to handle the expanded button setup.
Sony’s use of shapes wasn’t a haphazard decision. Along with becoming a key part of the PlayStation’s marketing, they denoted different actions like Triangle for PoV, Circle for confirming options and Cross or X for canceling, and Square for menus. In retrospect, it’s funny how the Circle is used to cancel choices while Triangle is used to access menus in many games today.
Overall, the PlayStation Controller was a good effort and launched with the PlayStation One in 1994. Better things were coming though. At the PlayStation Expo 96-97, Sony showcased the predecessor to the future – the Dual Analog Controller. Similar to the PlayStation Controller in almost every way, it carried two analog sticks and three operating modes. The first, Digital Mode, allowed for using the controller’s directional buttons and disabling the sticks. The second was Analog which enabled the sticks while the third, Analog Flightstick, was based off of Sony’s short-lived PlayStation Analog Joystick.
Complaints began to mount over the long grips and lack of Rumble for Dual Analog Controllers in the West. At the time, it was thought that Sony was keeping manufacturing prices down. The company also cited rumble as being one cause of controller issues, hence the exclusion. Behind the scenes though, the war over rumble copyright infringement was taking shape. For the time being, the PlayStation Analog Controller launched in April 1997 and was subsequently discontinued in 1998.
Thankfully, Sony would have a replacement ready by November 1997 – the DualShock, the de facto controller of choice going forward.
Boasting dual analog sticks, each with a vibration motor, the DualShock also felt more comfortable thanks to the rubber texturing on the analog sticks. It wouldn’t take long before the sticks were adapted by a number of different companies. There were even releases like Ape Escape which mandated playing with both analog sticks as opposed to either the D-Pad or face buttons.
With the PlayStation already seeing exceptional success, the DualShock cemented itself as one of the best controllers at the time. The design would see very minimal changes when the PS One, Sony’s smaller redesign of the console, released but it was still very much the same controller.
To no one’s surprise, Sony didn’t try to fix what wasn’t broken as it transitioned into the next generation. The DualShock 2 released with the PlayStation 2 in 2000 and stuck with the same button layout, two analog sticks (which feel somewhat stiffer than its predecessor’s but still), two shoulder buttons and so on. A few key differences were included though, like analog support for the buttons and D-Pad, with the added sensitivity factoring into some PS4 titles, and less weight than the original DualShock.
Riding the wave of the PlayStation 2’s success, the DualShock 2 was a worthy follow-up and stood out in an era of over-sized Xbox controllers and unorthodox Nintendo controllers. The DualShock 3 was mean to continue this line-up of controllers and was seemingly poised to launch with the PS3 in time for the seventh generation of consoles.
Of course, that’s not what we got. Instead, Sony unveiled something altogether different – a boomerang-shaped controller. This debuted at E3 2005 and was routinely ridiculed for its long handles and odd shape (which the company clarified to just be a concept rather than the final design). Unfortunately, the company then unveiled the actual controller for the PS3 – the Sixaxis. “Hold up,” you might ask. “How do you go from the DualShock 1 and 2 for the PS1 and PS2 respectively to this new Sixaxis controller for the PS3?”
The lack of the trademark DualShock brand wasn’t the only problem. Instead of vibration aka rumble, the Sixaxis employed motion sensing technology. Players could tilt the controller across the X, Y and Z axes in different ways, providing six degrees of freedom. Interestingly, the Sixaxis had some other new features including the introduction of the PS Button to replace the Analog button; the use of both analog and digital signals; changing the L2 and R2 buttons to act more like squishy triggers; and more.
However, the motion sensing controls were received negatively, mostly because of the timing of the announcement. It was revealed several months after Nintendo’s Wii reveal which had a Wii-mote for motion-sensing and came across as an imitation. And despite being the major selling point of the Sixaxis, there wasn’t many games that were confirmed to support motion controllers before launch.
We did inevitably see the likes of Warhawk and Lair, the latter infamous for reportedly suffering in order to support motion-sensing controls. The jury is still out today as to how stringently Sony mandated Sixaxis support for its games but it did crop up in major releases like Heavy Rain and Killzone 2 over the years.
Sony did provide reasons for introducing motion-sensing tech and removing rumble but the real answer lay in that ongoing lawsuit with Immersion. The latter took umbrage with companies infringing on its copyrights for haptic technology. Though Microsoft chose to settle – and even purchased a 10 percent stake in the company – Sony failed to come to terms with Immersion before the PS3’s launch. As a result, the DualShock 3 was sidelined in favor of the Sixaxis.
Thankfully, this didn’t last long. The DualShock 3 would be revealed in 2007 and released worldwide in 2008, with rumble making its return. In terms of design and other features though, both controllers were identical – the DualShock 3 even had motion sensing tech. By April 2008, the Sixaxis was discontinued completely and the DualShock 3 was the default PS3 controller going forward.
2013 signaled the arrival of the next-generation of consoles. Microsoft was busy revamping the Xbox One into an all-in-one entertainment solution with its controller being changed to reflect as much. Sony’s DualShock 4 was introducing some major changes of its own, including one that would serve as a minor revelation of sorts.
Revealed in February 2013, the DualShock 4 was very much similar to its predecessor in terms of button layouts, analog sticks, triggers and the implementation of motion-sensing. In terms of feel, the analog sticks sported outer rings for easier gripping and the digital pad’s buttions were more concave-shaped with the center being recessed. Sony spent an exceptional amount of time tuning the latter to make the controller feel better for fighting games.
However, a large touchpad now adorned the front where the “Sony” logo used to be. The Options button combined the functions of the Start and Select buttons into one. A mono speaker was visible just below the touchpad and would relay sounds based on the game, even being capable of playing game audio. And at the top of the controller was a light bar which could change under different circumstances (and would be useful for another Sony invention down the line, namely PlayStation VR). Its default color was blue but it could change – if a second player joined on the same console, their light bar would turn red to distinguish, for example.
There was also the Share button which allowed players to capture screenshots and videos from gameplay. Though the Xbox One could also capture gameplay footage and screenshots, the Share button was more seamless and significantly more streamlined, especially when sharing to social media. It’s probably no coincidence then that the upcoming Xbox Series X controller now boasts its own dedicated Share button.
Despite some issues with the left analog stick’s surface, the DualShock 4 has been a success much like the PS4. The light bar, initially met with some skepticism, felt unobtrusive enough while also having some actual use, though Sony would issue a patch that allowed for disabling it altogether. The second generation of the DualShock 4, released in September 2016, featured slight improvements like better battery life and the light bar being visible from the top of the touch pad.
All these years later, we now have the DualSense coming up for the PlayStation 5, sporting a bold two-toned color design. The light bar has moved from the top to the edges of the touchpad; a new microphone array, sporting noise-cancellation, allows for chatting without a headset; a USB-C connector is now used for plugging and charging the controller; and the Share button has been replaced with the Create button. Sony has yet to share finer details on the controller’s functions but it did confirm strong battery life and a relatively light frame.
Perhaps the defining features of the DualSense are its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback which can simulate different kinds of pressure – the most common example provided is drawing an arrow with a bow. Expect more information on other ways this will be implemented along with how the Create button works in the coming months.
It’s crazy to look back and realize that the PlayStation brand has been around for almost three decades. It feels like almost yesterday when we marveled at the possibilities of two analog sticks on the original DualShock or questioned the horror that was the Sixaxis. Even as the DualSense is met with some skepticism and its fair share of memes, we can’t wait to see how this iteration will define the PlayStation 5 experience in the years to come.
By: Ravi Sinha Title: The Evolution of PlayStation Controllers From The Original PlayStation To PS5 Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/the-evolution-of-playstation-controllers-from-the-original-playstation-to-ps5 Published Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 12:45:54 +0000
Giving you another way to enjoy your games from various sources on Linux, the free and open source PlayStation 4 Remote Play client 'Chiaki' has a new major update.
It's an app we showed off before and the results were quite impressive. Now it should give you an even better experience overall with the 1.2.0 version released on April 26. The major new feature here is VA-API support, which should improve performance while reducing the strain on your CPU. On top of that a performance regression on Linux specifically between versions 1.0.2 to 1.0.3 should also be fixed with a new SDL 2 build.
In typical console style, when I first went to try this today I was greeted by this being unable to do anything.
Plus there's also new settings for keyboard mappings, mouse click support for Touchpad Button in the UI and a wakeup command. Oh, 1.2.0 of Chiaki also adds support for FreeBSD and OpenBSD too.
While the VA-API support is currently done for Intel/AMD, it should be getting hooked up with VDPAU for NVIDIA too as they mentioned to me on GitHub.
Want to try it out? Check out Chiaki on GitHub.
Article from GamingOnLinux.com - do not reproduce this article without permission. This RSS feed is intended for readers, not scrapers.
By: Liam Dawe Title: Open source PS4 Remote Play client 'Chiaki' major release up with VA-API support Sourced From: www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/open-source-ps4-remote-play-client-chiaki-major-release-up-with-va-api-support.16512 Published Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 11:16:57 +0000
Like any other company in the games industry (or any other industry, for that matter), more than a few times, Sony have made promises or announcements that, for whatever reason, they have failed to live up to. In this feature, we’ll be talking about a few such instances.
KILLZONE 2 REVEAL
The poster boy of developers and publishers lying to their consumers. At E3 2005, Sony unveiled a “gameplay” video of Killzone 2 that looked absolutely spectacular, to the point of almost looking like a pre-rendered CG video. That’s probably because it was a pre-rendered CG video. Many suspected that to be the case, but even after being questioned about it, Sony explicitly said that what was shown was all actual gameplay, rendered in-engine- and this remains one of the most infamous examples of unrepresentative trailers for games.
By: Shubhankar Parijat Title: 10 Times Sony PlayStation Went Back On Their Promises Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/10-times-sony-playstation-went-back-on-their-promises Published Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 11:41:00 +0000
Vuzix To Host Additional Live Webinars That Demonstrate Business Continuity, Telemedicine and Tele-Training Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), (“Vuzix” or, the “Company”), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, today announced that it will host an additional series of live webinars on Zoom to demonstrate the broad support functionality of […]
In development by studio Joy Way, Stride is a VR parkour action game built atop an impressively smooth and immersive locomotion system. With inspiration from Mirror’s Edge (2008), Stride is an intriguing indie project due to launch this Summer. Locomotion in VR games is still in a state of rapid development and exploration. While ‘standing-only’ games and […]
VR 360 Videos - Welcome to YouTube VR channel 3D VR 360
I captured my music concert experience of Fortnite Travis Scott event in 360 degree for Virtual Reality. It's surreal, psychedelic, fictive and trippy.
Who is Travis Scott?
Scott is a rapper wh […] Read More
Bigscreen, the social VR viewing platform, introduced paid movies late last year so you could buy a ticket to join people in watching a number of 2D and 3D films at set times, working more or less like a physical movie theater. Although you’ll still be able to do that through special, one-time events, Bigscreen […]
Dreams (2020) launched out of Early Access on PS4 earlier this year, and while PSVR users have been patiently awaiting any news of the promised VR support, Media Molecule has stayed fairly mum on the subject. Now the studio’s creative director & co-founder Mark Healey says Dreams is currently undergoing its final stages before release. Healey […]
As we approach the launch of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X and Microsoft and Sony continue to reveal more details about their respective next-gen consoles (more of which are around the corner, if reports are to be believed), discussions about which of the two is the more powerful system are becoming increasingly pertinent, and will likely continue to be so for some time to come.
Both consoles have revealed some impressive things about their hardware so far, and both boast advantages over the other in different areas. The one area where the Xbox Series X is looking like it has the upper hand is pure, raw power, with, for instance, a GPU with a clock speed of 12 teraflops, as opposed to the PS5’s 10.28 teraflops. But how much of an effective difference will something like this make to developers in the long run?
According to Marc-André Jutras – Technical Director at Cradle Games, developers of the upcoming sci-fi Soulslike action RPG Hellpoint – probably not too much. In a recent interview, when we asked Jutras about whether he thinks the aforementioned difference will have too much of an impact in the long run, he suggested that it wouldn’t, since there’s multiple other factors at play.
“To be honest, probably not,” Jutras said. “Previous consoles always had this kind of difference. Especially the PlayStation, which always tended to have tweaks and hardware specific accelerations.”
“Especially with today’s GPU; how are those FLOPS used?” Jutras continued. “Any dedicated physics cores? What about audio processing? Neural network? And let’s not start on raytracing! Doesn’t matter if you have twice the FLOPS, but can only use half of them, right?”
We also asked if Hellpoint, given how close its launch is to the launch of next-gen consoles, will see a release on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, to which Jutras said that though Cradle Games have thought about it, for now they remained focused on the game’s upcoming launch.
“Would be a lie to say we didn’t at least think about it,” Jutras told GamingBolt. “However, right now our focus is on releasing the game on time. The next-gen is still a bit too far for us to take any decision just yet.”
Hellpoint is current scheduled for a launch on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in Q2 of this year, after recently having been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our full interview with its developers will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.
By: Shubhankar Parijat Title: PS5 and Xbox Series X GPU TFLOPs Difference “Probably” Won’t Matter in the Long Run – Hellpoint Developer Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/ps5-and-xbox-series-x-gpu-tflops-difference-probably-wont-matter-in-the-long-run-hellpoint-developer Published Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 17:38:00 +0000
Last year, we saw a lot of legacy titles from the classic RPG series, Final Fantasy, finally come to a variety of systems they had been absent from, namely, the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One. One of those was the classic Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, an updated re-release of FF12 that reworked a lot of systems of the game’s complex combat. Oddly, while those releases on Nintendo and Microsoft systems saw some QoL updates, those updates never came to the already existing PS4 and PC versions. That is, until now.
Updates have finally appeared for both of those versions that add the ability to reset Jobs, as well as expanding gambits to 3 sets. The PC version also removed the Denuvo anti-temper DRM, which is sure to make a lot of people happy, and the PS4 version added an OST option under the music menu. This finally puts these releases of the game on par with the later versions.
Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
Version 1.08 (PlayStation 4)
Job reset function has been added.
Gambit system has been expanded to three sets.
“OST” has been added under the config menu “Music.”
Version 1.0.40 (PC)
Job reset function has been added.
Gambit system has been expanded to three sets.
[Removed 3rd-party DRM “Denuvo Anti-Tamper.”]
By: Landon Wright Title: Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age Gets Job And Gambit System Updates For PS4, PC Sourced From: gamingbolt.com/final-fantasy-12-the-zodiac-age-gets-job-and-gambit-system-updates-for-ps4-pc Published Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 12:22:38 +0000
Oculus just dropped a surprise update to Dead and Buried II and they even saw fit to give its own subtitle: Reloaded. The free update brings new modes, maps, weapons, and characters. Dead and Buried II is Oculus’ first-party multiplayer shooter with cross-play between Quest and Rift. Launched backed in 2019, the game had a modest […]
Surviving high school is tough, especially for misfits and nerds?even without a high-stakes competition of cliques.
Set in an elite boarding school during the early 1980s, the Wintermoor Tactics Club is a narrative-driven game of strategy that follows three nerdy members of Wintermoor Academy’s tabletop gaming club. The premise is simple: Principal Enfield has announced a mandatory schoolwide snowball fight that will pit all of the school’s extracurricular groups against one another, with the winner being dubbed the “Ultimate Club.” The reasons behind this unusual competition are unclear, but one thing is certain: Alicia, Colin, and Jacob must transform from nerdy misfits into epic heroes as they take on the likes of the Psychic Detectives, and The Young Monarchs or face certain social doom.
Players guide these three students and their respective fantasy alter egos (Anjaya, Eodwald, and Roguespierre “Roguey” Trotsky Guevara) through different encounters, ranging from snowball fights against other school clubs to more traditional combat with the denizens of Curses & Catacombs, their tabletop gaming world. While their alter egos represent common fantasy archetypes expected in a dungeon crawler (Anjaya as an elemental mage, Eodwald the protective Paladin, and Roguey the rogue), Wintermoor takes it one step further by introducing humor and portraying a theme “about inclusion and the way we often narrowly define ourselves and others based on the groups we belong to.”
The game features seven playable characters, offers dozens of abilities to unlock, and promises more than 40 different battles to conquer in tactical, turn-based combat. Battles are summarized with a score, which is determined based on the technical prowess of the player. “The story will unravel the sinister truth behind the War of the Clubs, as players look to break down the walls of high school cliques, make new friends and unlock their true potential.” Players are also able to write tabletop campaigns that not only help students grow their club, but solve their personal problems.
Wintermoor Tactics Club represents the first game from EVC Games, “a team of ex-AAA game devs and longtime indies, working together to make good games and to make games good.” In collaboration with Versus Evil (who handled publishing for The Banner Saga and Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity, both fantastic games), EVC will bring this to PC via Steam on May 5; Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch owners can expect a release later this year.
Will Wintermoor Tactics Club be a hidden gem that sets the bar for indie tactics? We’ll find out soon.
By: jbennett@gamingnexus.com Title: Become the ultimate (snowball) fighting champion in Wintermoor Tactics Club Sourced From: www.gamingnexus.com/News/44590/Become-the-ultimate-(snowball)-fighting-champion-in-Wintermoor-Tactics-Club/
VR 360 Videos - Welcome to YouTube VR channel 3D VR 360
Enjoy this wonderful underwater virtual reality experience on your VR headset or move the screen to look around.
In this experience you will be surrounded not only by fishes and corals. You wi […] Read More
VR Company Offers In-Store Shopping Experience with Home Delivery During Coronavirus Social Distancing Many people are homebound, due to the Coronavirus and can’t get to the store. As a solution, check out the new VR service: LifeStyles In 360, a Florida-based tech company which originally created Virtual Reality shopping experiences for Whole Foods Market® and […]
Magic Leap today announced layoffs impacting “every level of the company” and a pivot away from the company’s near-term consumer ambitions and toward the enterprise space. In a blog post published by Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz, it was announced that the company is facing seemingly major layoffs and reorganization as it attempts to survive […]
In typical console style, when I first went to try this today I was greeted by this being unable to do anything.
