I Have Some Notes

A throw back to when Alan and Josh talked with Scott and Greg, on a movie podcast about Street Fighter.

Check out the link to their site!

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PS2J 320 News – Gritty Humans and Pretty Anime Folk

Free games

  • Xbox Gold

    • The Book of Unwritten Tales 2

      • 2015
      • A comedy point and click adventure game that has you switching between four different protagonists that has you working against a magical force that’s turning beasts into puppies and castles into dollhouses

    • Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut

      • 2016
      • A killer puzzle game where you control Skullface, a psycho slasher bent on slaughtering camp counselors at the title campground. Slide an adorable voxel murderer around hundreds of isometric puzzle levels to squash, flay, and decapitate hapless victims in this darkly comic homage to 80s horror.

    • Sphinx & the Cursed Mummy

      • 2003
      • Third person action adventure game inspired by the mythology of ancient Egypt where you play both the demi-god Sphinx and the undead mummy Tutankhamen in a combination of combat and puzzle-solving

  • Ps plus

    • Need for Speed: Payback

      • 2017
      • Racing game set in an open-world fictional version of Las Vegas, focused on action driving with three different playable characters working together to pull of action movie like sequences and heists

    • Vampyr

      • 2018
      • Action RPG set in Spanish Flu era London where you play Jonathan Reid, a doctor turned vampire torn between the Hippocratic Oath and his newfound bloodthirsty nature

  • Twitch

    • SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell

      • 2016
      • A first-person speedrunning parkour game that plays like a combination Quake 3 and Super Meat Boy with a focus on quick action and reflexes

    • Dead Age

      • 2016
      • A zombie apocalypse RPG with turn-based combat and permadeath that has you managing survivors, crafting materials, and making tough choices to defend your camp against the undead

    • Surf World Series

      • 2017
      • A single or multiplayer surfing trick game that looks like Tony Hawk on the water

    • Layers of Fear

      • 2016
      • A psychological horror game where you control a disturbed painter trying to complete his magnum opus as he navigates through a victorian mansion, with disturbing secrets about the painter being discovered

    • Silver Chains

      • 2019
      • First-person horror game with a focus on story and exploration, where you search for clues in an abandoned manor to unravel the truth about the terrible events that occurred

    • Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl

      • 2020
      • Retro 8-bit sidescrolling brawler that has Jay and Silent Bob battling their way out of the mall and back to the Quickstop

    • Darkside Detective

      • 2017
      • Point and click mystery game that has you solving the dangerous and confusing cases of Twin Lakes, with everything from flesh-hungry tentacles to mafioso zombies in the mix

  • Epic Games

    • Pikuniku

      • 2019
      • Puzzle adventure game that has you getting through levels and solving puzzles by kicking and pushing objects, swinging from your legs, or curling up and rolling around. The game is focused on single player but also has local co-op specific levels

Epic Games vs Apple updates

  • During a hearing this week with both companies, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers criticized Epic’s decision to breach their contract with Apple in the first place by offering their custom payment system in an attempt to avoid App Store fees
    • Apparently Epic claimed that it didn’t pose a security threat to Apple because they’re a well-established company and partner
    • Judge Gonzalez Rogers reportedly told Epic “You did something, you lied about it by omission, by not being forthcoming. That’s the security issue. That’s the security issue!” and “There are a lot of people in the public who consider you guys heroes for what you guys did, but it’s still not honest.”
    • She was also not particularly persuaded by Epic’s arguments that Apple was violating antitrust law, or that they harmed Epic’s ability to distribute Fortnite through the App Store
      • “Walled gardens have existed for decades,” said the judge. “Nintendo has had a walled garden. Sony has had a walled garden. Microsoft has had a walled garden. What Apple’s doing is not much different… It’s hard to ignore the economics of the industry, which is what you’re asking me to do.”
      • “The 30% of what you complain seems to be the industry rate, right? Steam charges 30%. Microsoft: 30% … If you go to consoles: PlayStation, Xbox Nintendo all charged 30%. Physical stores: GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart all charge 30%. Apple and Google charged 30%. It’s all 30%, and you just want to gloss over it. You don’t want to address it,”
      • Epic’s Bornstein says alternatives to the smartphone have their own constraints. “For example you can’t play an Xbox when you are, you know, on a bus.”
      • YGR: “You can’t play, but you can play on a Switch.”
  • We’re still waiting for a decision on whether Fortnite will be allowed back on the App Store temporarily, but Judge Gonzalez Rogers did recommend that the case be taken to a jury trial in July to settle the issues permanently

iOS security recommendations

  • Settings > Passwords > Security Recommendations
  • Breaks down all your saved passwords that may need to be changed based on priority, and includes info on whether they’re easily guessed, reused, or if they’ve been included in a previous data breach
  • It also gives you a link right to the affected site if you want to go ahead and change the password
  • Thanks to that I’ve tightened up my password security on a lot of different sites
  • One thing to note here is that the current conspiracy theory going around on Facebook, saying that iOS 14 widgets are acting as key loggers and stealing passwords, is completely false
    • Apparently part of the fuel for this is that people are getting notifications after upgrading that their passwords were involved in a breach- this is just because the notifications are new. The breaches are old.

Google announced a bunch of new stuff this week at their hardware event, including a new streaming service client

  • Not a streaming service itself, but Google TV is a client for Chromecast that shows content from services like Netflix and Disney+, alongside Google Play and YouTube videos
  • They also announced
    • a new standalone Chromecast model that comes with a remote control for $50USD, so you can use Google TV without streaming content from your phone
      • Unfortunately Stadia was left out in the cold here- you can get it going with a bit of fiddling, but there’s no native support
    • a 5G enabled Pixel 5 with somewhat underwhelming specs but a 90hz screen and IPX8 waterproofing that will set you back $700USD
    • another 5G phone, the Pixel 4A 5G, that’s basically an upgraded Pixel 4A XL and working as a budget version of the Pixel 5 without the fancy display and waterproofing and a $500USD pricetag
    • and a new Nest Audio speaker that we don’t have a lot of details on yet, but looks like a Google Home and a Google Home Max had a child and is apparently 75% louder than the Google Home it’s replacing

The new Spider-Man: Miles Morales game for the PS5 exists in a weird spot for a sequel, working almost like reverse DLC

  • You can get the game on the PS5, and if you want to play the remastered version of the PS4 Spider-Man you can either get the Miles Morales Ultimate Edition or buy the remaster from within the Miles Morales game
  • It’s apparently a full next-gen remaster with overhauled environments, ray-traced reflections and shadows, new skies and weather, a brand new face model for Peter Parker, 3D audio, instant loading, and a more powerful photo mode
  • Unfortunately all of this comes at a price- the trophy list will be separate from the original PS4 release, so trophy hunters are stuck starting from scratch

This Day in Gaming History

September 26 – 1995 – Command & Conquer – DOS

  • Command & Conquer develops ideas from Westwood’s previous game Dune 2, forming a real-time strategy (RTS) game.
    • The control system involves selecting units with the mouse and then directing them, while the opponents make their moves without waiting for a “turn” to end.
  • The game focuses on a war between two organizations, The Brotherhood of Nod and the Global Defense Initiative.
    • The player can take control of either side for more than 15 missions. Both have different units and structures, including artillery, tanks and light infantry.
  • In most missions, a base needs to be built first in order to build new units and structures.
    • Most important are the harvesters, which collect Tiberium and deliver it to a refinery, where it’s converted into money, thus funding the construction of a base and an army.
  • The game also features FMV mission briefings and victory cutscenes.

September 27 – 2004 – Dream Works’ Shark Tale – GameCube, PS2, Xbox

  • Shark Tale is inspired by the movie of the same name and follows the adventures of Oscar, a blue-streaked cleaner wrasse fish.
    • Oscar seems to have got himself into a bit of trouble as he needs to earn money to pay off a loan shark.
  • The game consists of over 25 chapters with each chapter having three missions to perform.
    • The three missions are broken into a regular one, a bonus one, and an elite one.
    • Completing missions earn Oscar fame points which affect his fame rating.
    • Also, depending on how well Oscar performs missions will determine how much money he earns to pay off his debt.
    • Missions are varied including things like escaping a shark, erasing graffiti, and a dancing segment.

September 28 – 1995 – Mario Clash – Virtual Boy – Japan

  • This game is essentially a single-player sequel to Mario Bros.
    • While the Super Mario Advance games would later contain a graphically-enhanced version of Mario Bros., Mario Clash contains many more additions and changes to gameplay.
  • As before, the goal is to clear a screen of enemies and move on to the next level.
    • However, rather than doing this by flipping an enemy upside-down from underneath and kicking them away, you throw shells at them.
    • Also, taking advantage of Virtual Boy’s added depth, there is a front area and a back area which can be traveled to and from using pipes.
    • Shells can also be thrown at enemies on the other depth area.

September 29 – 1996 – Super Mario 64 – N64 – North America

  • Mario is invited to Peach’s castle, but when he arrives Peach is nowhere to be seen.
    • He soon learns from Toad that Bowser has once again kidnapped her.
    • The Koopa King has also put a spell on her castle, imprisoning her subjects.
    • So it is up to Mario to break the spell and rescue Peach.
  • Super Mario 64 is the first Mario game done entirely with 3D graphics.
    • The core gameplay is similar to previous platform installments, focusing on jumping, avoiding obstacles and defeating enemies.
    • Levels can be explored without time limits.
    • Stars must be collected in order to unlock new areas, eventually gaining access to various parts of Bowser’s castle.
    • Defeating Bowser on each floor procures keys necessary to unlock big doors and enter other floors, which contain more areas.
  • Mario has more moves at his disposal in this installment.
    • Besides running and jumping, he can now walk, crouch, crawl, climb, and punch enemies.
    • Double and triple jumps, long jumps, wall jumps and backflips can be executed as well.
    • Swimming underwater now depletes Mario’s oxygen level.
    • Items must be picked up and carried in some instances in order to solve puzzles.
  • Power-ups include the Wing Cap, which allows Mario to fly; the Metal Cap, which protects him from damage (including environmental hazards such as poisonous gas); and the Vanish Cap, which makes Mario ethereal, allowing him to walk through certain obstacles (such as wire mesh). Mario can also enter cannons and be shot from them; combining this with the flying ability grants access to high areas.

September 30 – 1997 – Postal – Windows/Mac

  • You’ve just gone off the deep end, and in your deeply demented mind, you’ve decided that this little peaceful town no longer needs peace and quiet.
    • You gather your arsenal as you plan your next move…
  • Postal is best described as a three-quarter view isometric shooter with a disturbing theme.
    • Instead of shooting at demons, monsters, bad guys and terrorists, your targets are typical citizens like a high school marching band, ordinary pedestrians, and even Santa Claus!
    • You are provided with an arsenal of diverse weapons to choose from, ranging from good old fashioned guns to flame throwers.

October 1 – 2015 – The Beginner’s Guide – Windows, Mac, Linux

  • Probably a first, The Beginner’s Guide is presented as a guided tour through the work of another developer, named Coda.
    • This developer is real and created numerous experimental small games using the Source engine from 2008 to 2011, the year in which he stopped developing games altogether.
  • The player is guided through this list of small games by the voice of Davey Wreden, the actual director of the game and co-designer and co-writer of The Stanley Parable.
    • Similar to that game, The Beginner’s Guide can be considered a game about game design and about how players interact with games and, in a way, communicate with game developers.

October 2 – 1997 – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – PlayStation – North America

  • Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood.
    • Unlike the previous installments of the series, the game is set in a castle which the player can explore freely with many different paths, although often items in certain areas need to be found that will allow passage to others.
    • The action-based gameplay incorporates now strong RPG elements.
    • The hero receives experience points for defeating enemies, gains levels and becomes more powerful.
    • There is also money to be found in the game, and various accessories to buy. In a separate screen, players need to equip attack weapons, shields and other items.
    • Magic plays an important role, as well as secondary weapons and a large amount of “special moves” that are executed similar to advanced one-on-one fighting games.

Tidbits

  • After 11 years in operation, FarmVille is officially shutting down at the end of the year
    • The developer cited the end of support for Adobe Flash and an unwillingness to migrate to a new platform as the main causes
  • Los Angeles Comic-Con is moving forward with an in-person event in December, making it one of the first Southern California festivals to do so since the March shutdown
    • Precautions they’ll be taking include doubling their floorspace, spreading out activities across their own halls, splitting each day into five-hour sessions with deep cleaning between, cutting ticket sales, and live-streaming all guests and main panels for an optional virtual experience
    • It sounds like they’re trying, but I’d still be really hesitant to buy tickets
  • Apple and Microsoft are working together a bit more than usual now, with the Apple TV app soon becoming available on the Xbox
    • Content will include Apple TV+ subscriptions, which could save some money for people that have been eyeing up an Apple TV 4k box
    • This could also be a good sign for Game Pass, if the two companies can improve their collaboration and get eachother’s streaming services on their hardware
  • As part of Amazon’s announcements last week that flew under the radar, they also introduced a drone camera for inside your home
    • The Always Home Cam will set you back $250 and is a fully autonomous drone that can fly around and show your any room in your house
  • CD Projekt Red is drawing fire this week after doubling back on their commitment to avoiding mandatory crunch time for Cyberpunk 2077
    • Studio Head Adam Badowski released a statement lamenting this decision and how necessary it is, and promising 10% of the company’s 2020 profit to the team, but this will likely make people think twice before taking him at his word again
  • Star Wars Squadrons has launched to a lot of praise, especially for its multiplayer, including the fact that a day-one patch has implemented full support for flight stick, throttle, and pedal assemblies. Combined with VR, the immersion sounds awesome

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PS2J 293 News – Ctrl Alt Leak All Your Data

Free Games

  • Epic Games

    • The Stanley Parable

      • Started life as a Half-Life 2 mod in 2011, it became a standalone game in 2013
      • You play as the titular Stanley, and going through an office building in first person perspective, with everything that happens being narrated by the lovely British voice actor Kevan Brighting. You end up finding a bunch of diverging pathways, with options to disobey the narrator, that all get incorporated into the story with many different endings.

    • Watch Dogs

      • 2014
      • Third-person action-adventure game that follows hacker Aiden Pearce’s search for revenge after the killing of his niece, set in an open-world version of Chicago that has you going through different puzzles to hack a ton of different technology. There are also RPG mechanics with a reputation system and skill trees for hacking, crafting, combat, and driving

  • App Store

    • Alto’s Adventure

      • Join Alto and his friends as they embark on an endless snowboarding odyssey. Journey across the beautiful alpine hills of their native wilderness, through neighbouring villages, ancient woodlands, and long-abandoned ruins.

    • Alto’s Odyssey

      • Join Alto and his friends and set off on an endless sandboarding journey to discover its secrets. Soar above windswept dunes, traverse thrilling canyons, and explore long-hidden temples in a fantastical place far from home.

    • Kingdom Rush

      • Original, Frontiers, and Origins
      • Highly rated tower defence games
      • Get ready for an epic journey to defend your kingdom against hordes of orcs, trolls, evil wizards and other nasty fiends using a vast arsenal of towers and spells at your command!

COVID-19

  • According to the CDC, water temperature doesn’t matter at all when washing your hands
    • Hot or cold, the important factors are to use soap for at least 20 seconds and to use clean, running water. Standing water in a basin could be contaminated
    • They also mention turning off the faucet after wetting your hands to save water while you soap up, saying there is little data to prove significant numbers of germs are transferred between hands and the faucet
    • And also remember that while hand sanitizer also does the job, you’ll want to use soap and water if there is any visible dirt or grime to clean off. The best approach is to use both tools frequently
  • In some solid marketing spin, Apple is kicking off WWDC 2020 in June with an all new online format
    • Though it’s clearly a cancellation of the in-person sessions due to COVID-19, the way they’ve phrased it, and indeed the way it will exist this year, is an online format equally accessible to all developers no matter their location
    • They gave brief mention to the “current health situation”, but never actually mentioned COVID-19 or coronavirus
  • Many internet companies like TekSavvy and Shaw are making changes to remove data caps, offer flexible billing, and open up access points like Shaw Go WiFi to the general public
    • The FCC in the US is left scrambling to protect consumers though, after aggressively deregulating and removing their own power
      • They’ve convinced many ISP’s to waive late fees and not terminate services due to unpaid bill during this crisis, but glaringly omitted is any mention of removing data caps and overage fees
      • Ajit Pai arguing that ISP’s shouldn’t disconnect people in a time of emergency is making many wonder- isn’t this an admission that the internet is a utility, a basic service nowadays like power and water, and thus should be regulated as such?
  • The vast majority of business are either closing down completely or transitioning to online-only or limited delivery/takeout options to limit personal contact
    • Apple is even offering returns up to 14 days after they re-open their retail stores, as long as it’s not a phone bought on contract
    • Gamestop, though, has made the controversial decision to stay open in the US. They’re limiting the number of customers allowed in and cancelling midnight releases, but it’s still not a great situation
      • Many staff have reported on reddit that they haven’t even received disinfectant cleaners from corporate, instead being expected to provide their own and request reimbursement
      • Gamestop also still appears to be accepting trade-ins. Workers have apparently been told they can use gloves when accepting them, but they again have to buy their own
  • With movie theatres closing to keep up social distancing, Universal is releasing new movies as 48-hour rentals on the same day as their planned theatrical release. Current options include Trolls World Tour, The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma, which cost $20 to rent (about two movie tickets)
    • I can see a lot of other studios doing the same, if they haven’t already, to try and keep up their revenue on new releases
  • Conan O’Brien is taking an interesting route in sorting this out, allowing his crew to work from home while he shoots his show from his house on his iPhone
  • The WWE is still going strong, performing their hearts out to completely empty stadiums and arenas in some entertaining and somewhat surreal Twitter videos I’ve seen
  • The European Union is calling on Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services to temporarily reduce video quality to ease the strain on broadband networks while many work from home
    • Italy, one of the countries hit worst by the pandemic, saw a 75% rise in broadband and mobile network traffic over the weekend
  • Israel has passed an emergency law allowing them to track the smartphone data of people with suspected COVID-19 and others they come into contact with to make sure they follow quarantine rules, which is kind of terrifying when you think of the ramifications

Apple has announced a bunch of new hardware coming down the pipe, and DaringFireball has a solid breakdown of what we can expect

  • New iPad Pro models are coming with faster CPUs and GPUs
    • They also come with more storage, with the base model up to 128GB from 64GB, all for the same prices
    • They’ve also added a LiDAR sensor (basically a laser range-finder) which could mean much faster and more effective augmented reality apps
  • iPadOS 13.4 is coming this Tuesday and will include full system-wide pointer support for mice and trackpads
    • This looks pretty slick, being a round cursor when mousing around and then disappearing and highlighting buttons and controls when hovering over them
  • There will be a new Magic Keyboard iPad case coming in May with an integrated trackpad and backlit keys
    • It looks pretty powerful with no kickstand and adjustable angles, converting the iPad Pro into an actual , albeit topheavy, clamshell laptop
  • And the new MacBook Air has double the storage, greatly improved performance, and the prices have dropped significantly
    • With the price drops and storage increases, you can compare the previous generation’s slower 256GB model costing $1299USD to the brand new faster equivalent at $999
      • If you do want to spend $1299, you end up with a much beefier processor and double the storage
    • And as a bonus, they now have the new scissor-switch keyboard that solves many of the issues with Apple’s butterfly mechanism

China deploys a ton of ‘No touch’ Hologram elevator buttons

http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/demand-china-surges-no-touch-hologram-buttons/
  • A technology company in the city of Hefei, west of Shanghai, has attracted more than 100 orders for its holographic lift buttons as Chinese look for ways to avoid touching surfaces that may harbour the Covid-19 virus.
  • The device works by projecting an image of buttons in the air, and allowing users to “touch” them. The maker, Easpeed, says it can be fitted to all elevators, and has a response time of less than 30 milliseconds.
  • The system is relatively expensive, at about $2,000, prompting some building owners to opt for retrofitted voice controls, at a cost of around $500.
  • This has been done in hospitals in Yichang, Hubei Province, and Beijing’s Xiaotangshan Hospital.
  • Zhu Yongzhi, vice president Easpeed, told Global Times that the accuracy of voice control varied depending on noise levels, and the languages and dialects of the speaker.
  • He added that his company had received orders from Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province, and that the price may fall once Easpeed begins mass production.
  • Another approach has been taken by Huawei, which has developed an app that allows users to use a mobile phone to call elevators and select levels.
  • Meanwhile, those Chinese citizens who find themselves in unimproved lifts have taken their own measures, by using pens, toothpicks and keys to call their transport. Some may even have taken the stairs …

Watch Netflix with friends all from the comfort of you own homes!

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/netflix-party-lets-you-watch-movies-online-togethe/1100-6474858/
  • Netflix Party is a new way to watch Netflix with your friends online.
    • Netflix Party synchronizes video playback and adds group chat to your favorite Netflix shows.
  • How it works.
    • Install Netflix Party
    • Clicking the “Install Netflix Party” button on this page. Once you are redirected to the Chrome Web Store, click “Add to Chrome” to finish installing Netflix Party.
  • Open a Video in Netflix
    • Go to Netflix’s website. Choose any show you would like to watch and start playing the video.
  • Create your party
    • To create your party, click on the red “NP” icon located next to the address bar. Then click “Start Party” to get the party started, and share the party URL to invite friends.
  • Join a Netflix Party
    • To join a party click on the party URL, which will redirect to Netflix’s website. Then click on the “NP” button next to the address bar, and you should automatically join the party.
  • Has some customization options
    • User icon and nickname
    • Upload screenshots, emojis and GIFs
  • Netflix Party claims they have over 500 thousand users already
    • Is is not clear is they are affiliated with Netflix
    • Since they have a Patreon of $5 a month, I feel they are not
    • And with all participants needing their own access to Netflix
      • I doubt this will be taken down
      • But we never know

Tidbits

  • Microsoft’s been confirming the nuts and bolts of the Xbox Series X this last week, including a fancy solid-state drive, but they’ve made a bit of a misstep when it comes to expansion
    • They’re going to be selling the Xbox Series X Storage Expansion Card, a proprietary mcguffin developed with Seagate that you’ll need if you want to install more games than the internal storage allows. USB is allowed for backup, but not for gameplay
      • The cards will apparently offer some portability though, letting players bring a card loaded with games to a friend’s Xbox and play them there
    • Almost in response, Sony announced that the PS5 will have an expansion bay for an off-the-shelf solid-state drive, though they will be certifying specific drives to meet the new PCI Express 4.0 standard
  • After founding Microsoft in 1975, Bill Gates has left the its board entirely last week to dedicate more time to his philanthropic endeavours
    • It was a surprisingly quiet announcement, snuck in on a Friday under the headline “Microsoft announces change to its board of directors”
  • Apple has been fined a record $1.23B in France for price-fixing with their Apple Premium Reseller program
    • The French competition agency said that under the program, Apple published recommended prices and tightly restricted promotional materials distributors could use. One distributor said that if it ran a promotion Apple didn’t like, the company would retaliate by limiting product supply
    • The agency also found that Apple limited supplies to partners during moments of heavy demand around new product launches, to steer customers to its own stores
    • All in all some pretty nasty business practices that don’t sound very legal at all
  • Comcast has mistakenly published the names, phone numbers, and addresses of nearly 200,000 customers that pay monthly fees to remain unlisted
    • The information was made available on Ecolisting, a directory run by Comcast, and shortly thereafter picked up by third party directories
    • Comcast has shut that directory down, paid each customer $100 in credits, and offered free number changes, but the last time something like this happened in 2015 it resulted in a $33M settlement
    • This could be a very big deal for people that need to stay anonymous online for things like personal safety reasons, as even though they can change their phone numbers their names and addresses are out there now

New Overwatch Character #32, Echo

Backstory

  • Dr Mina Liao, Expert in robotics and artificial intelligence
    • Joined the Omnica Corporation and helped create the omnic race
    • During the Omnic Crisis, she was enlisted by Commander Morrison to join Overwatch
    • Mina created the Echo Project, to create an adaptive AI highly advanced robot to help with her vision of the future

Abilities

  • Primary attack
    • Tri-Shot – 15 shots before relead
    • Shoots 3 projectiles in a triangle pattern
  • Secondary Attack
    • Sticky Bombs – 5 second cooldown
    • Shoots a volley of bombs that stick to enemies and detonates after a short time
    • can be combined with Primary attack
      • Unlike Zenyatta’s charge attack
  • Primary Ability
    • Flight
    • Initial boost forward
    • Followed by a short time of free flight
    • She can also glide
      • Faster falling than Mercy’s similar ability, but more maneuverability
  • Alternate Ability
    • Focusing Beam
    • Deals significantly more damage to characters that are under 50% health
    • Also deals more damage to Barriers that are below 50%
      • Funfact – The first cracks on a barrier are when it falls to 50%
  • Ultimate
    • Duplicate
    • Echo will duplicate an enemy character for 15 seconds
    • Echo replicates the appearance of the hero and gains all their abilities
    • Damage done or healed, in this transformed state will accumulate more Ult charge than in regular gameplay
    • If you are defeated, you lose your transformation, and become Echo again
    • Quality of life enhancement added to confirm the character selected before transforming
      • It is also added to Ana’s Ultimate, to confirm the character you will be boosting
  • She is a very advanced character and will have a long time on the PTR

 

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PS2J 290 News – Lynx With A White Hat

Free Games

  • Microsoft

    • Batman: The Enemy Within

      • 2017
      • Episodic adventure game in classic Telltale Games fashion, and a sequel to 2016’s Batman: The Telltale Series, it features the usual branching narrative and choices carrying over from the previous title

    • Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

      • 2016
      • The fourth game in the Shantae series, and the first full HD title, it’s a cute platformer with metroidvania elements that has you transforming into different animals to access new areas

    • Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

      • 2014
      • An action-adventure sequel to the 2010 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, you play a weakened Dracula on a quest through medieval and modern worlds to defeat Satan

    • Sonic Generations

      • 2011
      • Produced for the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, and featuring both classic sidescrolling and full 3D levels, it follows Sonic and Tails as they team up with their past selves to stop an evil entity from erasing time itself

  • Sony

    • Shadow of the Colossus

      • 2018 remake of the 2005 PS2 game
      • Beautiful action-adventure game that has you exploring a vast expanse on horseback to defeat the 16 colossi to restore the life of a girl, it’s minimalist in that there are no towns to explore, characters to interact with, or enemies to defeat other than the colossi

    • Sonic Forces

      • 2017
      • Platformer published for Sonic’s 25th anniversary, it features both classic side-scrolling and modern 3D Sonic gameplay, as well as a mode featuring custom characters inspired by fanart over the years
      • This one caught some flack for being released after the success of Sonic Mania

  • Epic

    • InnerSpace

      • 2018
      • Adventure game inspired by Journey and Grow Home that has you soaring through the sky and diving into the ocean in search of the ancient gods of the Inverse, a realm of inside-out planets

Google’s strange stance on the ToTok messaging app malware is making a lot of people suspicious

  • ToTok first hit as a popular social messaging app receiving millions of downloads from the Play and App Stores combined, with the iOS app alone having more than 32,000 reviews
  • Then late last year both Google and Apple removed the app from their app stores after US intelligence officials found it was a tool for spying by the United Arab Emirates government
    • They told the New York times that the UAE was trying to track “every conversation, movement, relationship, appointment, sound, and image of those who install it on their phones.”
    • An independent analysis of the iOS and macOS apps confirmed that, if you gave it permission to access your contacts, it did in fact collect entire address books and send them back to head office
    • Not to mention the fact that all in-app communications would be readily accessible to the developers if they so choose
  • Then a week later, Google put it right back with no explanation
  • And then this week they removed it from the Play Store a second time, again with no explanation
  • Finally, over the last few days Google’s Play Protect app scanning service started showing the warning “This app tries to spy on your personal data, such as SMS messages, photos, audio recordings, or call history. Even if you have heard of this app or the app developer, this version of the app could harm your device.”
    • The message then gives you two options, either Uninstall or Keep App (Unsafe)
  • That back-and-forth, especially with them not telling users exactly what they know about the app, has people scratching their heads
    • Some are even speculating there may have been some insider on the app approval team that tried to sneak it back in

Slickwraps customers were treated some conflicting information about their privacy this week, but the bullet point here is that the company has been breached

  • Earlier this week the whitehat hacker and cybersecurity consultant known as Lynx posted a full breakdown of exactly how they hacked Slickwraps’ website and, by extension, their internal systems
    • Basically it looks like the case customization feature, that lets you upload a photo to make a custom decal, allowed users to upload any file to any location on the webserver
    • That allowed access to the full contents of the server, including employee resumes and 9GB of customer photos (which, of course, included nudes)
    • From there Lynx got into configuration files, leading to their entire database including customer addresses, emails, phone numbers, and transaction histories
      • As a bonus they also got access to Slickwraps’ admin accounts and credentials for their payment partners, admin accounts, social media, and help desk
    • Basically, at this point Lynx owned Slickwraps’ entire digital infrastructure
    • Now you might ask, why did they post this info publicly? Well apparently they tried to contact support subtly on Twitter, directly through the support portal, and then no subtly by adding a page to their website saying “Lynx was here” and tweeting it to their support account
      • The company’s response, apparently, was to block Lynx on Twitter and, according to Lync, try to erase the data breach from their logs and reset passwords, even reinstalling their whole eCommerce platform, without actually closing the hole in their security
    • Days afterward they continued to ignore Lynx, even after other unscrupulous activity could be seen going on as other hackers caught wind of the vulnerability
    • Eventually the company messaged Lynx asking if they were looking for a bounty. Lynx replied, saying they didn’t want anything but for Slickwraps to notify their users of the breach as they’re required to do as part of European data privacy laws, which they were already in breach of since it took them so long after first contact to do anything
      • Then things got a little dark, with Lynx threatening that if Slickwraps didn’t contact customers they would do it themselves and potentially leak the entire database of information
      • The response? “Why are you doing this?”, followed up by “Are you able to help?” and “We are just the social team, btw and done via a 3rd party”
      • So Lynx did what they perhaps should have done in the first place- they found the CEO’s email in the Slickwraps database and emailed him, telling him to check the messages
      • Shortly afterward, Lynx was once more blocked. So days after first contact they gave up and published their findings
  • Eventually Slickwraps did sent out a notification on February 21st, 6 days after the initial hack, saying “On February 22nd, we discovered information in some of our non-production databases was mistakenly made public via an exploit. During this time, the databases were accessed by an unauthorized party.” and claiming to have closed the databases in question
    • The timeline here is a little suspect, as well as the claim that it was non-production databases accessed rather than their entire infrastructure
    • It was also sent to a lot fewer users than were actually exposed- other whitehats sent out emails to the entire database details what happened, including each customer’s name and physical address as evidence, and there are many reports online of people receiving this email and not the official one
  • There’s also the fact that at this point, depending on how far Slickwraps has come in actually addressing the issue, I would avoid their website since who knows what malware or other surprises people have snuck into place
  • But there is good news here- no passwords or financial data were leaked, and if you checked out as Guest instead of creating an account you’re completely safe
  • People that have been affected will need to be on the lookout for more targeted phishing attacks though, as a lot of identifying information is out in the wild now
  • If you want to see if you’re affected you can punch your email address into haveibeenpwned.com to see a list of data breaches that include your information

Having fun with MTG Commander again

  • Thanks to my friend Cam for inviting me to his MTG night
  • Cam helped pick out some mean cards for my Mogis Commander deck
    • Here are some Highlights:
    • Mogis, God of Slaughter
      • For reference my commander, when on the field causes my opponent to sacrifice a creature or take 2 damage every upkeep
    • Dictate of the Twin Gods, 5 mana Enchantment
      • If a source would deal damage to a permanent or player, it deals double dame to that permanent or player instead.
    • Painful Quandry, 5 mana Enchantment
      • Whenever an opponent casts a spell, that player loses 5 life unless he or she discards a card
    • Ob Nixilis, Unshackled, 6 mana Legendary Creature, 4/4
      • Flying, Trample
      • Whenever an opponent searches his or her library, that player sacrifices a creature and loses 10 life.
      • Whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 on this creature
    • God-Pharoh’s Statue, 6 mana Legendary Artifact
      • Spells your opponents cast cost 2 more to cast
      • At the beginning of your end step, each opponent loses 1 life
    • Hour of Devastation, 5 mana Sorcery
      • All creatures lose indestructible until end of turn.
      • Hour of Devastation deals 5 damage to each creature and non-Bolas planeswalker
    • Fraying Omnipotence, 5 mana Sorcery
      • Each player loses half their life, then discards half the cards in their hand, then sacrifices half the creatures they control.
      • Round up.
    • Dingus Staff, 4 mana Artifact
      • Whenever a creature is put into any graveyard from play, Dingus Staff deals 2 damage to that creatures contoller

Overwatch Experimental 1-3-2

  • There is a new tab when selecting your game called Experimental.
    • It is reserved for radically different tests, that are not meant to roll into the game, which is why they aren’t seen exclusively on the Public Test Realm.
  • The first is a test to change the dynamic of team play to have one tank, three damage and two support.
    • To make one tank more viable, here are the interesting changes made to the Tank Heroes.

  • D.Va

    • Health
      • Still 600, but adjusted to have 200 more armor
    • Defense Matrix
      • Lasts twice as long, now 4 seconds
    • Fusion Cannons, primary fire
      • Now only reduce movement speed by 30% instead of 50%

  • Orisa

    • Protective Barrier
      • Cooldown reduced from 10 seconds to 8
      • Barrier health increased to 900

  • Reinhardt

    • Health
      • Still 500, adjusted to have 100 more armor
    • Rocket Hammer, primary fire
      • Damage increased from 75 to 90
    • Barrier Field
      • Regeneration increased from 200 to 250 per second

  • Roadhog

    • Take A Breather
      • In addition to regular effect, leaves a cloud when used.
      • The cloud heals all allies for 25 health per second and provides 25% damage reduction
    • Chain Hook
      • Reduced from 8 to 6 seconds
    • Scrap Gun, primary fire
      • Damage per pellet reduced from 6 to 5 (150 damage per shot down to 125 damage)
    • Whole Hog
      • Cost increased by 15%

  • Sigma

    • Experimental Barrier
      • Regeneration rate increased from 120 to 200 per second
      • Barrier health increased from 900 to 1200

  • Winston

    • Health
      • Armor health pool increased from 100 to 200 (Total health is now 600)
    • Barrier Projector
      • Cooldown reduced from 13 seconds to 10 seconds

  • Zarya

    • Health and Energy
      • Shields health pool increased from 200 to 300. (Total health is now 500)
      • Maximum energy gain per barrier decreased from 40 to 30
    • Particle Cannon, primary fire
      • Maximum primary fire damage per second reduced from 170 to 140
    • Particle Cannon, secondary fire
      • Maximum secondary fire damage reduced from 95 to 80
    • Particle Barrier (Self)
      • Cooldown decreased from 10 seconds to 8 seconds
    • Particle Barrier (Ally)
      • Now creates barriers on all allies within 8 meters of your target
      • Duration increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds

Tidbits

  • Apple’s taking some heat this week for their Mac Pro option that changes its solid feet to a set of wheels
    • The $400 upgrade doesn’t offer any way to lock the wheels, so while it could be decent on the floor it would be a terrible idea to put it on a table or desk
  • In a pretty confusing turn of events, the popular mobile game Plague Inc has been pulled from the iOS App Store in China because authorities say it “includes content that is illegal in China”
    • The strangest part is that it’s been available for years, so the best guess is that it has something to do with the COVID-19 coronavirus, but that still doesn’t really map
  • The United States FTC has announced that it’s sending out refund cheques to people who fell victim to tech support scams
    • The agency will be sending out a total of $1.7M, averaging $30 each, to users tricked into paying for fake tech support from companies like Click4Support
  • Samsung users got a surprise last week, receiving Find My Phone notifications that just said “1”
    • Apparently the alert was an accident- basically someone pressed a button they didn’t mean to and set out the mass notification during an internal test
    • Some users also noticed an odd spike in the app’s battery usage, with no explanation
  • Director Rian Johnson shared some interesting info in a Vanity Fair interview this week- Apple lets you use iPhone in movies, but the bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera

 

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PS2J 278 News – So Unprepared Its Scary!

Alert: Anyone still using an iPhone 5 should update their software immediately

  • As of November 3rd core functionality of the phones will break due to a GPS bug with daylight saving time, and if you haven’t already updated to iOS 10.3.4 by then you’ll have to manually do so through your computer- iCloud connections and over-the-air updates will no longer work

Samsung has released an update to address the fingerprint fiasco on their Galaxy S10 and Note 10 devices

  • A couple weeks ago we talked about the problem with Samsung’s revolutionary new ultrasonic under-display fingerprint sensor, and how by applying a screen protector to the device you can unlock it with anything from a piece of fruit to a small toy
  • Samsung’s now officially released a fix for this problem, and they’ve said they’ll be sending notifications to all users who have registered their fingerprints in their devices
    • They’re also asking anyone that has registered their fingerprint with a screen protector applied to remove it, then delete and re-register their prints, since the stored prints may include “incorrect” info
  • Time will tell if Samsung can earn back the trust of the security community though, with many banks worldwide pulling fingerprint verification from their apps on varying ranges of Samsung and Galaxy devices
    • The Bank of China even blocked it for Tab S6 users, which uses a standard optical sensor instead of the in-display ultrasound

Just days before Blizzcon is slated to begin, reputable leaks have popped up on ESPN of all places showing what appears to be Overwatch 2

  • From the looks of things it will be introducing a new PVE experience, possibly similar to some of their event game modes that have had a team of heroes playing against waves of enemies, as well as new game modes, maps, and heroes
  • There’s also new artwork hidden on the Blizzard Gear website featuring a group of Overwatch heroes charging into battle including Echo, a previously teased but unannounced character that may be going live alongside the expected announcement
    • There are also some minor costume changes in the new artwork, with Tracer, and Mei getting subtle tweaks and Genji wearing a hoodie and pants over his cybernetic body
  • It will be interesting to see what gets announced at Blizzcon, how many of these leaks get confirmed, and what the fate of Overwatch 1 will be with players having spent so many hours and earned so many unlocks but having its sequel coming down the pipe

Apple sneakily announced and released their new AirPods Pro this week, and they’ve got a lot of the changes I was hoping for after seeing Google’s Pixel Buds earlier in October

  • The redesign brings in rubber tips more in line with modern earbuds, smaller stems, active noise cancellation, and a fancy “Transparency” mode
  • They’ve also kept ear detection, which is my favourite feature of my old Gen 1 AirPods, but have swapped out tapping on the buds to activate Siri for squeezing the stem to control music more traditionally- one squeeze for pause/play, two for next track, three for back, along with a long squeeze to switch from ANC to Transparency
    • Apparently there’s some Apple trickery at work that makes it feel and sound like clicking a button, though there aren’t any actual moving “button”
    • They also still have the ridiculously simply pairing process with iDevices, where you just have to open the case nearby and tap the screen. New to iOS 13.2 though, you can also use this to temporarily share audio with a friends AirPods and have it playing through both sets simultaneously
  • So let’s dive in to what’s new:
    • Rubber tips – they’ve got the usual three sizes to customize your fit, but instead of having a little vent hole in the rubber like Google did to equalize pressure they actually have a vent system running through the AirPod itself
      • The vent doesn’t sacrifice water resistance though, as these are rated IPX4 and good for exercising and sweating all over
      • They also have a fit test you can run where it uses microphones both in and outside of your ear to gauge the seal around the Pods and see if you should adjust the sizing
    • Speaking of those microphones, the active noise cancellation uses them along with fancy software to process your environment 200 times a second and remove background noise by sending out special customized anti-noise
    • They also do some adaptive equalization, tuning the frequencies of the music to the shape of your ear to optimize audio quality
    • And then there’s the new Transparency Mode, which lets you hear your environment and your own voice while offering just a hint of noise cancellation to keep things clear and understandable if you want to hear traffic or transit announcements
      • You can swap between Transparency and ANC on the fly by squeezing the stem, from your iPhone’s Control Centre, or on your Apple Watch
  • Battery life is pretty much unchanged depending on your usage- turning off ANC and Transparency gets you the usual 5 hours of listening, while turning them on takes it down to 4.5, and you’ll see 3.5 hours of talk time on the phone. The case amps that up to 24 hours of listening, 18 hours of talk, and it can be charged via Lightning or a Qi wireless charge mat
  • All that can be yours for $250 USD or $329 CAD, and they’re available to order or pick up now

Apple’s also released a bunch of software updates

  • As I mentioned earlier iOS 13.2 is out, with not only audio sharing but also Deep Fusion photos for the iPhone 11 (taking multiple exposures using all the lenses and fusing them into one high-quality photo), and the ability to control whether your Siri dictation is used to improve the service and, if not, delete anything they might have archived
    • You can opt out by going to Settings > Privacy > Analytics & Improvements > Improve Siri & Dictation and toggling the slider off
    • And you can delete any saved Siri interactions from Apple’s servers by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri & Dictation History, and tapping on Delete Siri & Dictation History
    • This is all a much-needed improvement, especially from a company that claims to care so much about the privacy and security of your data
  • watchOS 6.1 brings support for the new AirPods, as well as finally allowing version 6 to be installed on Series 1 and 2 watches
  • and macOS 10.15.1 also brings AirPods Pro support and those Siri privacy settings
  • They did release audioOS 13.2 for HomePods as well, which brought the ability to differentiate between multiple voices and easily hand off audio by bringing your phone near the speaker, but it was soon pulled after users online started saying it bricked their HomePods
    • If you’ve already updated your HomePods Apple recommends you don’t reset or reboot it, even if iOS prompts you to, until they issue a fix.
    • In the meantime, if you’ve been affected by this issue you’ll need to contact Apple support and have it repaired or replaced

The Outer Worlds – Josh’s Impression

  • Great RPG
    • I’m not generally a fan of RPG’s but this one has really taken me by surprise
  • The setting is, as other have put it, is like 1984 by George Orwell, but with corporations instead of the government
    • When faster than light technology was discovered, companies spread out and bought the rights to many star systems.
    • This story takes place in a system controlled by The Board
      • The Board is made of the heads of massive companies that control everything
    • The technology is similar to Bioshock
      • Sort of less pipes and steam, more plug-n-play tech and Edison bulbs
      • But the main hook of it is fascinating technological advancements that can be maintained with a pipe wrench
    • Weapons are neat too
      • There has been knives, scythes, hammers, staves, all sorts of things
      • For ranged weapons there are your handguns, rifles, heavy machine guns, flame throwers and grenade launchers
      • Best part is ammo is only 3 types, Light, Heavy and Energy
    • Armour is simple as well
    • Stats
    • Companions
    • Healing
    • Time Dilation
  • Great conversations
    • Funny
    • Skills do well in it
  • Not too long
    • Has an end!
  • Lots of replay

Tibits

  • Apple’s copyright lawsuit against mobile device virtualization company Corellium over offering virtual iOS for development and testing hit an interesting development, when Corellium fired back saying Apple owed them $300K because they make it easier for security researchers to track down bugs
    • Corellium claims that its product is fair use and makes the world a better place, though the fact that one of their customers sells hacking tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies makes it tough to believe in their altruism
  • In an interesting move EA has announced they’ll start publishing games on Steam again, leading many to speculate on their Origin launcher soon being shut down
    • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is already up on Steam, and other major titles will hit in the coming months. We’ll see multiplayer titles like Apex Legends next year, with cross-play between Steam and Origin versions

Alan recommends The Lost Boys

 

Literally Misleading

Last Week:

Thanks to reddit user – MissBarker93
Movie – Man Survives thanks to his own feces
The Martian

This Week:

Thanks to reddit user -YodaFan465
After his father dies, a barber evades an MLM scheme

 

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PS2J 273 News – My Glasses Are Vibrating

Free games

  • Xbox

    • Tembo the Badass Elephant

      • 2015
      • 2D side-scrolling platformer that has Tembo smashing and stomping his way through enemy structures and vehicles, and solve puzzles using his trunk to progress

    • Friday the 13th: The Game

      • 2017
      • Asymmetric survival horror game based on the film franchise, pitting up to seven counsellors at Camp Crystal Lake against Jason Voorhees in a semi open world fight to escape

    • Disney’s Bolt

      • 2008
      • Based on the movie of the same name, you play as Bolt the superdog going on various missions using your powers to take down enemies and make it through the levels

    • Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge

      • 2013 re-release of the 2012 WiiU title
      • Punishingly difficult action-adventure game from Team Ninja that has you jumping, climbing, fighting, and assassinating
      • Razor’s Edge is an enhanced release of the original NG3, in line with the Sigma games, taking a lot of cues from Ninja Gaiden 2

  • PS4

    • MLB: The Show 19

      • 2019
      • Baseball sim that’s the 14th in the The Show franchise, bringing new features to let players relive and recreate famous moments in MLB history

    • The Last Of Us Remastered

      • 2014 remaster of the 2013 title
      • Action adventure third person shooter by Naughty Dog that has you escorting a teenage girl across a post-zombie apocalypse United States where survivors have managed to make ends meet, it’s earned a lot of praise for not just its gameplay but also its characterization and storytelling
      • The remaster brings graphical improvements, a higher framerate, and some new features to take advantage of the PS4’s controller’s touchpad and lights

  • Epic

    • Everything

      • 2017
      • A simulation game where you have the ability to explore a procedurally generated universe and control various objects within it, exploring and changing while quotes from philosopher Alan Watts are played

    • Metro 2033 Redux

      • 2014
      • Post-apocalyptic first person shooter that turned the Earth’s surface into a poisonous wasteland, and has the survivors living in a new dark age, populating the depths of the Moscow underground

Google managed to push a Chrome update recently that could make your Mac completely unbootable

  • Apparently the automatic update was released including a bug that damaged the file system on macOS machines that have the built-in System Integrity Protection disabled (or any versions before 10.11 El Capitan, where SIP was first introduced), deleting an important file at the root of the startup drive
  • Google has since paused the release until they address the problem, but this raises a bigger question- why is a web browser’s software updater doing anything at the root level?
    • Daring Fireball put it nicely- “This is like hiring someone to wash your windows and finding out they damaged the foundation of your house.”
  • End of the day unless you have a really good reason you should probably leave SIP turned on, since this is the exact kind of problem it was introduced to prevent
  • If you’re a Chrome user on Mac you should check out the blogpost on MrMacintosh.com (https://mrmacintosh.com/google-chrome-keystone-is-modifying-var-symlink-on-non-sip-macs-causing-boot-issues/) for steps on how to see if you’re affected and how to fix it.
    • Above all, do not logout, shutdown, or restart your Mac before running the repair if you’re affected. You’ll have to boot into recovery to fix the problem introduced by Chrome

Sony’s Nintendo Direct-style State Of Play livestream hit again this week, so here’s some of the highlights courtesy of Kotaku:

  • The Last Of Us Part II is coming February 21st
  • A demo of the MediEvil remake is available today, and you can get a special item in the full game by playing it
  • A limited-edition Death Stranding PS4 Pro bundle is hitting November 8th, with a pretty cool dripping-handprint design
  • Wattam, the next game from the creator of Katamari Damacy, is coming this December
  • L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is available now for PSVR
  • Civilization 6 is coming to the console on November 22nd

iOS 13.1 is here! Already! Because for some reason we needed a new version 5 days after the previous release!

  • Before we get into the new features, it comes with a BIG security warning for everyone: the new iOS has a flaw that enables third-party keyboards to get full access to your device even if you haven’t approved it
    • Full access means that they keyboard isn’t just a standalone piece of software and can provide additional features through network access, meaning that they could theoretically send what you type over the internet to another system
    • The problem apparently doesn’t affect the official built-in keyboard, but the exploit is currently public and Apple has yet to find a fix so be very, very careful when using iOS keyboard replacement apps
    • On the plus side, iOS 13 added some new features like swipe-typing that users previously needed third-party apps for, so fewer people will need those keyboards going forward
    • You can check out Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards to see what you currently have installed. If in doubt, it’s definitely worth deleting them
  • So, on to the new stuff!
    • iPadOS is officially here, bringing more multitasking abilities like having the same app open twice, improved browsing in Safari, and a bunch of other tablet-exclusive features to the iPad
      • It also has an updated home screen to take advantage of the extra space, instead of just showing a big grid of apps
    • We’ve also got tvOS 13, updating the home screen to make it easier to discover new content, a new picture-in-picture mode to let you watch videos while using a different app or adjusting settings, and supporting multiple users for the first time
      • It also supports Xbox One and PS4 controllers, alongside the new Apple Arcade service which gives you unlimited gaming for $5-6 /month
    • Share ETA is now more powerful, automatically updating selected contacts if your travel time changes
    • There’s a new lyrics view in Apple Music that follows along with your music, turning your iPhone into a karaoke machine
    • You can now temporarily pair two sets of Airpods or Beats headphones (anything with an H1 or W1 chip) to your phone to share audio with a friend
    • And the Shortcuts app is getting even more powerful, with automatic triggers based on things like location or time of day now available
  • Overall it’s a solid improvement over iOS 13, also fixing a bunch of things like the email issue I mentioned in the last episode, with the only caveat being “be careful with third party keyboard apps”

Amazon has announced a whole bunch of new hardware including Echo devices and more

  • Among the announced devices are an Echo Dot with a built-in digital clock, and a high-end Echo Studio set to compete with the HomePod for giving you audio optimized to whatever room it’s located in
  • They also updated their line of Echo Show devices, including screens with HD resolutions, and announced the Echo Glow, a multicolour smart lamp that works with your Alexa devices
  • And now Alexa can live in your glasses with the Echo Frames, that has directional microphones and vibration motors on your face meant to connect to your phone on the go. This is a weird one, since it doesn’t really do anything that headphones don’t already while being more limited in other ways
  • Finally, Amazon’s released their Airpod-competing Echo Buds- truly wireless earbuds with 5 hour battery life and up to 20 hours with the included charging case
  • One funny part of the whole announcement came with Amazon executive Dave Limp being interviewed by Bloomberg about the new products while clearly wearing an AirPod instead of the new Echo Buds
    • It’s right up there with Samsung promotional tweets marked with “via Twitter for iPhone”

Google Assistant coming to Xbox

Currently in Beta, I was not able to get it working between getting home and starting the show

Tidbits

  • Google launched their Apple Arcade competitor, Play Pass, this week; a subscription app service for $5-6 /month
    • Contrary to Apple’s strategy of being the only mobile source for their games and providing brand new content, Play Pass includes many existing apps like Stardew Valley, KOTOR, and AccuWeather, so though they get to launch with a larger library it somewhat seems like more of a subscription ad removal system than something really comparable to Apple Arcade
  • Activision is under fire this week after a leak came out saying that Modern Warfare lootboxes won’t be just cosmetic
    • Supply drops will apparently include weapon unlocks alongside filler content like emotes and sprays
    • They’ve also announced that PS4 players will have exclusive access to Survival Mode until October 2020, which has a lot of people cancelling their preorders
  • Bandai Namco is holding a blood drive with the American Red Cross during Twitchcon this week, gifting a free copy of Code Vein and a “promo blood kit” for everyone that donates
  • Continuing the mess that is Fallout 76’s merchandising (the terrible collector’s edition bag, the disappointing Nuka rum), the Nuka Cola branded power armour helmet is being recalled due to the lining containing dangerous levels of mold, posing a risk of respiratory or other infections
    • Good news, apparently though there were 20,000 produced for sale in GameStop stores, the manufacturer has stated that only 32 were sold

Alan recommends Mario Kart Tour

  • Nintendo’s latest mobile game, Mario Kart Tour, released this week on iPhone and it’s pretty fun!
  • There are definitely some freemium aspects to it, with a couple different currencies and gatchapon-mechanics to get new drivers and karts (spend the freemium currency to launch a random thing out of a pipe)
    • One extra piece to file under “bold choice” is their $5 monthly subscription, which nets you access to exclusive characters, extra bonuses, and the 200cc mode (the fastest in the game)
    • Considering that costs more than Nintendo Switch Online, which gets you access to a bunch of free games, it’s a hard piece to justify
  • The steering is also a little strange, with the two main options being either swipe to steer or swipe to drift
    • There’s also an option for gyroscope steering, but in practice I found that it just messed me up
    • Swipe to drift seems to be the pro option, and you just need to hold your drift and adjust your swipe to get around different angles and corners
  • On the plus side of things it looks like the gatchapon mechanics aren’t a core pay-to-win feature, with different courses giving bonuses to different drivers each time
  • They also didn’t put in an energy system, so you can race as much as you like.
  • Overall it’s a fun game that I wish didn’t have microtransactions, but it seems like they’ll be easy to avoid going forward

Literally Misleading

Last week:
Game – A hard working lady is stuck going back and forth to clean up the trash. (Super Metroid)
This week:
Movie – A man led astray by his employer takes out his frustration on his family.

 

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

A huge thanks to Zane, for supporting us and Podzilla.

And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us.
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And talk to us in the comments!
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A Facebook Page exists as well.

PS2J 255 News – Adventure DeSynced

Free games

  • Microsoft

    • NHL 19

      • 2018
      • Build your player from the ground up and compete against over 200 hockey greats

    • Rivals of Aether

      • 2017
      • Platform fighter that has you summoning the power of the four elements to battle your opponents and unravel the mysteries of the planet

    • Portal

      • 2007
      • Using Aperture Science’s portal technology in this first person puzzle platformer, break the laws of physics and solve brain-bending puzzles to escape the sinister laboratory you are trapped in

    • Earth Defence Force 2017

      • 2006
      • In this third person shooter with an arcade-style campaign, you’ll annihilate swarms of enemies, some 20 stories tall, using your reconnaissance, infantry, and special ops forces with all manner of weapons and vehicles at your disposal

  • Sony

    • Sonic Mania

      • 2017
      • A throwback to the 16-bit era of the Sonic franchise developed by and for fans featuring Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles

    • Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

      • 2015 bundle release of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel along with all their DLC
      • First person class-based loot-shooter with a ton of colourful style and a dark sense of humour, plus drop-in multiplayer with your friends. Borderlands 2 is great, and hey The Pre-Sequel is also here

  • Epic Games

    • City of Brass

      • 2018
      • First-person action adventure from senior BioShock developers. Armed with scimitar and a versatile whip, you’ll lash and slash, bait and trap your way to the heart of an opulent, Arabian Nights-themed metropolis – or face certain death as time runs out.

  • Twitch

    • Nintendo Switch Online- additional 9 months should be unlocking right away, as long as your Twitch Prime has been active for 60 days

Warning: Pokemon Go has a bug where if you update to iOS 12.3 Adventure Sync will stop working

  • The system that Pokemon Go uses to credit your distance walked while the app is closed has stopped working since the latest iOS update
  • Apparently Niantic has a fix in the works for the next release, but there’s no ETA yet so in the meantime iPhone users are stuck in the dark ages of keeping the app open all the time to get credit for distance walked
  • Hopefully the app will do something to retroactively reward people for the distance that has been missed, especially with their Adventure Week event happening in a few days with sizeable rewards for using Adventure Sync

Flipboard, a curated news app, emailed users this week about a sizeable security breach

  • Between June 2018 and April 2019 there was apparently unauthorized access to databases including information like usernames, emails, and encrypted passwords, and Flipboard has said that it’s possible that copies were made
  • The passwords were both salted and hashed, which not only sounds delicious but also means they’ll be hard to crack
    • Either way though, if you re-used a password for this site you’ll want to update it elsewhere
  • As as security precaution Flipboard is resetting all user passwords and replacing or deleting all tokens used to connect to services like Twitter or Facebook
  • They’ve also stated that they’re implementing enhanced security features and that law enforcement officials have been notified
  • All in all, a bad situation but handled right

Death Stranding, the upcoming adventure game from Hideo Kojima first announced three years ago, is officially coming to PS4 on November 8th

  • They’ve just dropped a great trailer with the first real solid details on the game, and it looks like a good time
  • It’ll also have asynchronous online where you can share supplies and safehouses, as well as “walk in the footsteps of fellow couriers to reunite civilization”
  • Another interesting feature: Kojima’s latest game won’t have a typical fail state. If you are defeated, you’ll re-appear in an “upside down realm” that you can escape from. “Choose your combat methods carefully, as killing your foe is almost never the solution – and every death carries a consequence”

Microsoft is putting more games on Steam

The Xbox Game pass is coming to PC
  • To open the market Xbox Games Studios games are being added to Steam
  • Releasing previously exclusive titles to the Microsoft Store
  • Age of Empires 1 to 3, Gears of War 5, headed to Steam first
Xbox Head Phil Spencer had this to say:
  • “Our intent is to make our Xbox Game Studios PC games available in multiple stores, including our own Microsoft Store on Windows, at their launch.  We believe you should have choice in where you buy your PC games,” writes Xbox head Phil Spencer.
  • “Enabling gamers to play together, through cross-platform play and cross-network play across Windows 10 PCs and console, is vitally important. Building communities across all of those players, regardless of the store or platform they’ve chosen (console or PC), is also vitally important because it helps bring players together, allows games to find their largest audience and allows gaming to deliver its true potential of uniting people around the power of play.”
  • “We know millions of PC gamers trust Steam as a great source to buy PC games and we’ve heard the feedback that PC gamers would like choice. We also know that there are other stores on PC, and we are working to enable more choice in which store you can find our Xbox Game Studios titles in the future,”
  • “When I think about the role we play as a company to support and evolve gaming on Windows, it’s critical that we make decisions that reinforce the open nature of the PC, focusing on how best to unite players on all devices around the games they love. That philosophy will guide us as we introduce new ways to discover and play games on Windows.”
Releasing on Steam, these game will be Win32 executables
  • They are free from the Universal Windows Platform wrapper
  • Now they can support new exciting things
    • The Steam Wrapper
    • Unofficial mods
  • The Microsoft Store will also be delivering the games as Win32
    • Developers get to save time by not repackaging them as UWP files
    • This change will support older DirectX tools, OpenGL and Vulkan
More on their PC Plans at their E3 press conference, June 9th.
 

Tidbits

  • A new Beat Saber music pack is coming June 10th, with a simultaneous release across all platforms
  • According to Buzzfeed News, we may be in the very early stages of a Knights of the Old Republic film
    • So far only a screenwriter is involved, no actors, directors, or producers, but this is still an exciting time to be alive
  • Apparently the Sonic the Hedgehog live action movie is being delayed by three months, till Feb 14 2020, in order to rework the visual design and digital effects
    • This was announced in a tweet that used the classic cartoony Sonic silhouette as well as a hand wearing white gloves, so this could definitely be a step back towards a more classic look
  • The next Call of Duty game to be released, and the fourth in the Modern Warfare series, will be called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
    • Not to be confused with the first Modern Warfare game, which was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
    • Also not to be confused with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, which was a remaster of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and not the fourth Modern Warfare title which is coming this year
 

Alan Recommends Little Shop of Horrors*

  • 1986 American rock musical comedy horror film directed by Frank Oz
  • Fantastic movie that I took way too long to watch
  • The asterisk comes from the ending- the stage play the movie is based on had a bigger, darker ending that the movie originally adapted, but then later due to test showings they went back and re-filmed it into something that fits the tone a lot more effectively
 

Literally Misleading

We’re taking a break with Alan gone. Look forward to a new description in July!
If you have a Literally Misleading Description, message Josh directly on our Discord, or Twitter @fushigiyami

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

A huge thanks to Karen, for believing in us for so long. And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us. And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link! Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off! We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB And talk to us in the comments! Or… Discord Server Twitter and Instagram @ps2jshow Facebook

PS2J 253 News – Animated Block Reality

Free games

  • Epic Games

    • Rime
      • 2017
      • Play as a young boy who has awakened on a mysterious island after a torrential storm. You see wild animals, long-forgotten ruins and a massive tower that beckons you to come closer. Armed with your wits and a will to overcome—and the guidance of a helpful fox—you must explore the enigmatic island, reach the tower’s peak, and unlock its closely guarded secrets.
 

SUPERHOT is tempting me over to the dark side of VR

  • The Oculus Quest, a standalone 360 room-scale wireless VR headset that uses the fancy Oculus Touch controllers, had a brand new version of SUPERHOT VR release this week
  • Developers say the gameflow has been completely rebuilt into what it was originally meant to be, letting you move through levels naturally instead of breaking them up into pieces that don’t require walking
    • SUPERHOT VR on PSVR uses “pyramids” to split up the action, so that you don’t have to move around
  • Best part is, any backers of the original SUPERHOT kickstarter are getting this version for free as well!
    • Backers should already have received an email prompting them to link their backer email to their Oculus account email, but if you haven’t you can send that information to: pleasecanihavethequestgame@superhotgame.com
    • Even if you don’t have a Quest headset, it might be worth getting the accounts linked now so that you have the game on your account for the future
 

Microsoft is joining the open world AR business With Minecraft Earth

  • ME is an upcoming free to play mobile game that’s looking to use AR to bring your Minecraft creations to the rest of the world
  • It’s all built on the existing Bedrock engine, so everything from Redstone machines to how physics affect water and sand will all work the same as the usual Minecraft experience
  • The big difference is that, using AR and GPS, your creations can be visible and modifiable by other people that you invite into your session
    • They’re not permanent, but you can temporarily share the structures with friends and even save a copy of what you built and send out links for people to play with on a table or in giant scale in an open space
    • The idea is to eventually have persistent structures around the world, but that will need a few more advancements in tech and especially in content moderation
  • Resources are gathered via “tapables”, randomly placed pickups that appear around you, in addition to gathering points linked to real-world locations
    • According to game director Tori Olafsson, “Every lake is a place you can fish, every park is a place you can chop down trees”
  • There will also be dynamically spawning adventures designed for multiple people to get involved in, ranging from peaceful and friendly to riskier dungeon delves
  • One thing to note here is that there’s no PVP- all blocks spawned drop for all players, so there’s no competition for resources
  • And with Microsoft’s computer wizardry they’re bragging that you can see everyone’s avatars walking, including the tools they’re using at the moment, and do things like stand in front of your friends to block them from attacking a virtual sheep
    • You’re essentially in the game, and your camera works as a lens you can see it through
  • All said and done this seems pretty cool and very ambitious, though from the sounds of Microsoft’s plans for the tech they may end up harvesting your location and camera data to ostensibly improve the product in the future
    • This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s always good to be aware of what you’re sharing with these companies and what they’re using it for
  • And this could relate to a tidbit I found, where Microsoft and Sony are apparently teaming up for some future projects leveraging Microsoft’s cloud computing and Sony’s game and image sensor expertise
  • Minecraft Earth will hit beta on iOS and Android sometime this summer
 

The American beta for Mario Kart Tour on Android kicked off this week, and thanks to the internet we’ve got a good idea of what you can expect on release

  • It looks like they’ve taken a normal Mario Kart game and changed the controls to make it similar to Super Mario Run- acceleration is automatic, and you just swipe your thumb or tilt your phone to steer
    • The default controls take care of drifting automatically as well, but there’s also a manual option
  • The tracks are all taken from previous games, and only run two laps instead of three
  • Then we get to the money-making part of the game
    • It seems to be using a gacha system similar to Fire Emblem Heroes, where you use in-game currency to get random drivers, karts, and gliders
    • The big problem is that, unless Nintendo changes it before release, rare drivers actually have advantages like special items or track-specific bonuses
    • There’s also a stamina system to limit how many races you can do each hour
  • Those pieces are even more controversial than usual now that Belgium has legally categorized video game loot boxes as gambling- Nintendo has announced they’ll be shutting down both Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in Belgium as of August 27th.
    • Compared to what Blizzard did with Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm last year, simply disabling paid lootboxes in Belgium but allowing users to still earn them in game, that move seems like overkill
    • Presumably that also means they won’t be seeing this game any time soon
  • The beta is planned to continue through June 4th, and we’ll see what the payment situation is like when the final release of Mario Kart Tour hits iOS and Android sometime this summer
 

Nintendo’s also released a bunch more details on the upcoming Super Mario Maker 2

  • The game will launch on June 28th, and there will be a standalone version as well as a bundle that includes a year of Nintendo Switch Online
    • The bundle will be pretty handy, since there are more than a few features locked behind an online requirement- including uploading your levels and searching/downloading other users’ creations
    • They’re apparently supporting an offline mode once you’ve downloaded levels, but there’s no word on if you’ll need to connect and run a check-in to keep them available
  • On the plus side, there are officially versus and co-op modes that have up to four players competing or teaming up to beat the objective, be it reaching the goal, picking up coins, or a certain number of 1-UPs
    • Both modes have players shoving and bouncing off eachother, so really they’re all versus
    • They also work via local network, so you can get multiple Switches going, but with a big caveat- apparently at least one system has to be online to confirm a paid NSO account.
      • This is a first for Nintendo, and it could put a damper on pick-up games really taking off in weird places like convention lineups
  • They’ve also shown off the new tools that level creators will have at their mercy, like some really granular controls on slopes, animated snake platforms, on-off switches, varying water levels, and a completely separate Super Mario 3D World palette that has so many unique pieces that it can’t be applied as a re-skin
  • There will also be a campaign mode with 100+ levels designed by Nintendo staff
  • And we’ll be seeing a lot more of this on June 8th, when Nintendo runs their invitational SMM2 competition at E3
 

After an ambitious and tumultuous go at gaming, the Ouya is officially shutting down

  • The Ouya itself was an aggressive product, originally launching on Kickstarter back in 2012
    • The idea was that it would be a completely open game console for your living room where every title was free to play, with the intention that it would offer AAA gaming without licensing or publishing fees
    • The reality was a disappointing box that arrived late and mainly ported mobile Android games to your TV
  • So the Ouya as a device was discontinued three years later in 2015 after Razer bought the founders and merged the content into their Forge microconsole ecosystem
    • So Ouya was technically still around, but mainly as a brand name and publisher for Android games. Everything was done through the Forge TV hardware
  • Now Razer is shutting down the whole works at the end of June- as of June 25 2019 you won’t be able to download any more games through the online service
    • Downloaded games may still function if they don’t have an online check-in at launch, but that will be up to developers
  • Owners of the Forge TV and MadCatz Mojo consoles that used these services should still be able to connect to Google Play, but it’ll be up to developers to migrate their games from the Ouya storefront
 

Sony’s given us a couple sneak-peeks at the next generation of Playstation, and they look solid

  • In an investor demo they show the PS5 running tech demos based on Spider-Man about 10x faster than the PS4 Pro
  • It will apparently also support resolutions up to 8K, come standard with an SSD, and will be compatible with both the existing PSVR and PS4 games

 

China’s Social Credit system is right out of Orwell’s 1984

  • Social Credit is tied to many things, like travel options
    • You can be denied flights, and forced to travel by train with a low social credit score
  • Things that lower your score
    • defaulting on a loan
    • criticizing government policy
    • too much time playing online games
  • Punishments for a low score are varied
    • setting an embarrassing ringtone to on your phone
    • you can be denied loans
    • lose job opportunities
    • limit the quality of hotel you can stay at
    • throttle your internet connection
    • ban your children from private schools
    • put you on a public black list
  • ABC Australia reports the deadbeat map
    • via China’s populat WeChat
    • People of a low score can be tracked on a radar style map
    • “Tapping on a person marked on the map reveals their personal information, including their full name, court-case number and the reason they have been labeled untrustworthy. Identity-card numbers and home addresses are also partially shown,” ABC reported.
  • In the style of Minority Report
    • People with a low enough score can be detained and put in re-education camps
    • not because of a crime they committed
    • because the have the high likelihood of committing a crime
  • Your score can be increased
    • You can report the misdeeds of others
    • Its creating a paranoid nation of informants
      • the government claims they are creating a “culture of sincerity” that will “restore social trust.”
    • reportable offences include violating their new religious restrictions
      • Christians praying illegally in their homes
      • Muslims growing beards or fasting during Ramadan
  • Human Rights Watch describes the system as chilling
    • In response the Chinese Communist Party responds
      • Westerners are simply too unsophisticated to understand the wonders of the new system
    • The China’s Global Times printed
      • “The hypothetical theories of the West are based on their ignorance.” The massive social credit system, it goes on to say, is simply “beyond the understanding of Western countries.”
  • The State has already been using other concerning techniques to watch their population
    • “Big Data” – extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.
    • Machine Learning
    • Facial Recognition
  • They have their people in a virtual prison 
    • They are selling this infrastructure to likeminded dictatorships
    • Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela, is their first customer
 

Slay the Spire launches for Switch on June 6

Here’s an overview from the listing, along with a trailer:
We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
Features
  • Dynamic Deck Building: Choose your cards wisely! Discover hundreds of cards to add to your deck with each attempt at climbing the Spire. Select cards that work together to efficiently dispatch foes and reach the top.
  • An Ever-changing Spire: Whenever you embark on a journey up the Spire, the layout differs each time. Choose a risky or safe path, face different enemies, choose different cards, discover different relics, and even fight different bosses!
  • Powerful Relics to Discover: Powerful items known as relics can be found throughout the Spire. The effects of these relics can greatly enhance your deck through powerful interactions. But beware, obtaining a relic may cost you more than just gold…
  • Slay the Spire will cost $24.99 on the Switch eShop. It’ll take up 419MB of space.

 

Tidbits

  • Anyone with a Macbook that has the butterfly keyboard switches (2015 and newer) will be happy to hear that if you’re having any keyboard issues (stuck keys, multiple letters appearing with one key press, etc) you should be eligible for their free keyboard repair program
  • Health Canada has officially cleared the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications on the Apple Watch Series 4, so we could be seeing an update enabling them in the near future
    • This comes with a classification marking the watch as a Class II medical device, in a “low to medium risk” category alongside things like contact lenses
  • Psychonauts 2 backers received another production update this week, with some cool news: The first gameplay segment will be shown at E3 in Los Angeles next month!
  • Lenovo showed off a Moto Razr phone reboot with a folding display at a press event this week, but with one problem- it was a fan-made concept video downloaded and edited without permission
    • It looks like some of the watermarks were removed, with a Lenovo bumper added at the end, but you can pretty clearly see some watermarks they missed on the phone’s screens with the creator, Waqar Khan’s, Twitter handle
    • Technically Lenovo didn’t actually announce anything like it, but showing the video at a press event when they clearly don’t have anything concrete to show is pretty skeezy to say the least
 

Alan Recommends The ‘Burbs

  • It’s a comedy horror thriller from 1989 starring Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, and a bunch of other solid actors
  • Pokes fun at suburbia and the weird people that live there, with some really smart writing that keeps you on your toes

 

Literally Misleading

Another one from Family member Scott. Check out his twitter @scottybomb and his podcast The Read-Along, its a weekly book club for where you can follow along with Scott and Anita!
 
MOVIE – “A man must send his father to protect his mother, when his enemies target her for assassination.”
 
If you have a Literally Misleading Description, message Josh directly on our Discord, or Twitter @fushigiyami

 

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

 

A huge thanks to Dalton, for believing in us for so long. And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us. And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

 

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!

 

We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

 

And talk to us in the comments! Or…

 

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PS2J 251 News – State of Not Playing With You Anymore!

Free games

  • Twitch

    • The Little Acre
      • 2016
      • A lovingly crafted, hand-drawn and fully voiced point-and-click adventure game that has you exploring 1950’s Ireland and a strange new world in search of your father
    • Whispering Willows
      • 2014
      • Indie adventure horror game that has you interacting with the spirits of the dead, solving the puzzles of a mysterious mansion and helping Elena find her missing father
    • Stealth Bastard Deluxe
      • 2012
      • Subtitled “Tactical Espionage Arsehole”, this 2D stealth platformer has you sneaking through a deadly facility that seems determined to get you
    • Majesty Collection
      • 2011
      • Real time strategy with indirect control, where you need to influence your heroes to carry out your will and defend your domain

Sony released a State of Play announcement this week talking about some of their upcoming projects, and they look interesting

  • We’ll be getting an asymmetrical cooperative/competitive game in 2020 set in the Predator universe called Predator: Hunting Ground
    • No gameplay was shown, but it seems to follow the lines of the Friday the 13th game or Evolve where one player is the predator and the others are part of a fire team trying to take it down
  • We’ll also see a MediEvil remake on the PS4 this October 25th
    • The remake of the PSOne classic looks pretty nice, coming to 4k resolutions from the old jagged polygons, and I’m looking forward to playing the fun and weird story once again
  • Sony dropped a trailer for the Final Fantasy VII remake they announced four years ago, including gameplay and cutscenes, and it looks really good
    • Still no word on a release date, but it ends with “More to come in June” so I’ll be keeping an eye out

Firefox users may have noticed some problems with their extensions this week, namely that they’ve been completely broken

  • Apparently Mozilla forgot to renew a security certificate that expired on May 3rd, causing many add-ons to the browser to stop working entirely
  • Apparently they’ve released a potential temporary fix, but there are many cases in which it may not work for people
    • For instance if they’re on Android, the Tor browser, or have certain settings disabled related to Studies
  • Despite the problems Mozilla developers are advising against using workaround, and saying not to delete and reinstall add-ons to try and fix the issue
    • Some workarounds circulating online, they caution, could even leave your data vulnerable to potential attacks
  • In the meantime they’ve made an updated version available for desktop and Android to address the issues, and other platforms should have the new version as soon as possible

Samsung has officially acknowledged they have no idea when the Galaxy Fold will hit users

  • Pre-order customers in the US have been told that, if they don’t respond confirming the order and the devices haven’t shipped by May 31st, the orders will be automatically cancelled
  • Considering the supply chain and logistics required, if they don’t know whether they’re shipping this month by now they’re not shipping

Adobe is quietly testing new pricing for its Creative Cloud Photography bundle, doubling the price from $10 to $20USD per month

  • The new plan also brings cloud storage up from 20GB to 1TB, but for anyone not using Adobe storage there’s no added benefit
  • The original price is available on a hidden section of the site, which is just really weird way to run a test. Was the test us noticing?

It looks like Bethesda is under fire this week for their brief pen-and-paper RPG adventure set between Cyrodiil and Elsweyr, that not only uses D&D 5th edition rules (which are open sourced and is completely fine) but also copied entire sections from a published adventure called The Black Road

  • Entire characters and lines of text seem to have been copied wholesale from the adventure, causing Bethesda to take the whole thing down while they investigate

Video game can detect early Alzheimer’s symptoms

Written by Zack Zweizen published on Kotaku
Video game to detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier symptoms
  • The forgetfulness is a late stage symptom and not the best for detection
  • PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) has already studied and sees the game as effective
In Sea Hero Quest, which is a VR game, players have to navigate and control a virtual boat. They are given a map and shown checkpoints, then the map is taken away and players must navigate to these checkpoints in the game world without the map.
According to researchers, every two minutes spent playing the game is equal to five hours of lab-based research. Because Sea Hero Quest has been out for a few years and downloaded and played by over three million players they’ve collected the equivalent of 1,700 years of research data on Alzheimer’s.
Researchers involved with the project studied people who carried the APOE4 gene, which is thought to increase that person’s risk of developing dementia, as they played the game. They then compared these people’s results to the results of folks who played the game who don’t have that gene.
“We found that people with a high genetic risk, the APOE4 carriers, performed worse on spatial navigation tasks. They took less efficient routes to checkpoint goals,” said Professor Michael Hornberger, a member of the team.
Using data gathered from thousands of players who downloaded and played Sea Hero Quest, researchers were able to create a baseline that their test results could be compared to. In the future, the team hopes this data and the game will help identify people who need treatment for dementia before they begin suffering from some of the worse later stage symptoms.

code v2: EAGMB

version 1 :C7373

Update Version 2 :

  • Fixed a bug where the mercs couldn’t see the supplies.

  • Match timer now last 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes.

  • Spies :

    • Energy consumption is reduced by half.

    • The spies now possess 2 Flash bangs and 2 Tear mines instead on 1 each.

    • New ability : Smoke grenade, 1 use, generate a smoky area and the spy become instantly invisible for 5 seconds.

Asymmetric game with the stealthy Spies versus the dangerous Mercs. The Spies goal is to capture 2 objectives out of the 3. The Mercs’s mission is to defend the objectives till the end of the timer OR eliminate the spies to exhaust their respawn tickets to 0.

Based on the Splinter Cell franchise.

Each team and character have his own mechanic.

Spies team:

  • Knockdown

    • You can knockdown mercs if you hit them from behind with a melee attack. https://gfycat.com/fr/backjauntyduck

    • You can’t spam the melee attack to knockdown mercs as soon as they get up, they will have a temporary immunity before being vulnerable to knockdown again.

    • When you knockdown a merc 3 times he will be eliminated.

    • Hacking a merc slow down his movements and it become easier to get behind him.

  • FlashBang (Ultimate)

    • You throw a flash bang on your feet who stun any nearly merc for a very short time.

  • Smoke Grenade (Ability 2)

    • You create a smoky area and become invisible for 5 seconds.

  • Tear sticky mine (Primary Fire)

  • You can recover your gadgets in the spawn.

  • Press “Ultimate Status” voice-line to switch from first to third person camera and vice versa.

  • You don’t trigger mercs’s mines when you crouch and you can defuse these by approaching and using the hack. https://gfycat.com/fr/activerewardingarachnid

  • You can wall jump, once in the air and facing a wall press (Jump) to get a second impulsion. https://gfycat.com/fr/quarterlysnappygourami

  • The spies can help each other to reach higher positions with a cooperative action. When a spy crouch and stay idle, his ally can get a boost when pressing (Interact) on the crouched spy. https://gfycat.com/fr/deficientediblearacari

  • Invisibility ability is now energy limited.

Mercs team:

  • 4 classes: Ashe, Soldier 76, Widowmaker and Baptiste.

  • Abilities now use unique ammo, except for exceptions (like sprint).

    • If your ability is a placeable object you can only have one active at a time.

    • You can refill your abilities ammo on one of the three supplies designed by a yellow ring. https://gfycat.com/fr/forcefulglisteninggelada

    • Once used, the supply is unavailable for 1 minute.

Ashe:

  • Incendiary Mine (Ability 1)

    • Explode and burn everyone in his radius when a spy trigger it. https://gfycat.com/fr/threadbareamusedasianwaterbuffalo

    • To set the trap, hold (Ability 1) for 1 second on a surface.

    • The spy trigger the trap even if he is invisible.

    • The spy can defuse it.

    • It can cause friendly fire.

Soldier 76:

  • When using tactical visor, your speed is raised to the same as the sprint ability.

  • Stun Mine (Ability 2)

    • Stun everyone in his radius when a spy trigger it. https://gfycat.com/fr/lazyeagerafricangoldencat

    • To set the trap, hold (Ability 2) for 1 second on a surface.

    • The spy trigger the trap even if he is invisible.

    • The spy can defuse it.

    • It can cause friendly fire.

Widowmaker:

  • Sprint (Shift)

    • Widowmaker sprints like Soldier: 76 but can also sprint backwards.

  • Motion Sensor (Ability 2)

    • Detect everything moving in a 20m radius and in 360 degrees. https://gfycat.com/fr/healthyadvancedgrouper

    • To set the sensor, hold (Ability 2) for 1 second on a surface.

    • It doesn’t make a difference between a spy or a merc.

    • It doesn’t detect crouch.

    • Can still detect invisible spies.

    • The Spy can disable it.

Baptiste:

  • Chaff Grenade (Ability 1)

  • Surveillance camera (Ability 2)

    • Add second POV for Baptiste.

    • When looking through the camera, you can see energy emitted by the spies when they are invisible. https://gfycat.com/fr/violetrespectfuldingo

    • To set the camera, hold (Ability 2) for 1 second. It will be placed on where you are standing and his direction will be the same as yours.

    • Once you have set the camera, press (Interact) to switch your pov with the camera one.

    • The spy can disable it.

The mode is compatible with all assault maps but due to the objectives and supplies positions requirement, when you want to change map you need to open the workshop and change the first variable of the first rule to the map you want to play.

Any feedback is appreciated and more importantly, have fun!

Plans for the future:

  • Balance, balance, unbalance.

  • Waiting for a “Map condition” to let the players change the map smoothly.

  • More playable Mercs and new gear (smoke, sticky cameras, …)

  • More maps.

Tidbits

  • The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is officially available, and despite Microsoft’s worries about pricing that we mentioned in episode 247 here in Canada it’s retailing for about $80 less than the similar disk-reading version
  • Apparently in order to fully support Apex Legends, Respawn is pushing out plans for future Titanfall games
    • On the plus side, Titanfall 2 is still a ton of fun and not at all dated
  • I’d completely forgotten it was happening, but IT Chapter Two released a trailer this week and it looks fantastic
    • The movie is set to release on September 6th
  • There’s a new insult going around schoolyards nowadays- default
    • Apparently it’s from Fortnite, based on insulting kids that can’t buy any of the fancy skins and are stuck using the default military drab character
    • It’s something like the new ‘noob’, from the looks of it. In other news, I’ve been 31 for a week and a half and suddenly feel every single one of those years

Alan recommends Bohemian Rhapsody

  • It’s a solid movie with an amazing soundtrack that offers a really interesting perspective on what made Queen, Queen
  • The editing can be a little choppy in some scenes, but it’s worth sitting through to see the full arc of these characters and the actors that really seem to have nailed the look and personality of the actual band members
  • And the cherry on top is that during the credits it does a quick wrapup of where a lot of the people ended up in real life after the point where the movie ended
 

Literally Misleading

MOVIE – Friends meet up and make a trip to the pub for shots.
If you have a Literally Misleading Description, message Josh directly on our Discord, or Twitter @fushigiyami
 

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PS2J 231 News – Choose Your Own Lawsuit

Netflix has a fun update that flew under our radar. Bungie breaks free from EA. This week’s bad description, might be too easy. Alan gave a movie a shot when he expected the worst.

I want to not have to use ‘fans’. Cause they are the friends we haven’t met yet, and friends are just the family you aren’t born to. That logic, I’m going to refer to our listeners as ‘fanily’

Netflix has a cool little update!

Bojack twitter posted an update

  • Unflattering pic

You can change your profile pic to be a character from many other Netflix exclusives

  • Bojack
  • Big Mouth
  • Stranger Things
  • Orange is the New Black
  • Defenders
  • Total of 25 different categories
    • Including “The Classics” which is the updated original pics

Choose Your Own Adventure publisher suing Netflix over Bandersnatch 

  • Bandersnatch is really interesting! 
    • Choose your own adventure show
    • Part of the Black Mirror universe/collection? 
  • Thanks to Alaina for telling me to check it out!

Sonic Crash Course Board Game 

BoardGameGook Details

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 min playtime
  • Weight 2/5
  • Designed by Sean Mcdonald
    • Train Heist (2013) 6.7 on BGG
  • Published by IDW
    • Machi Koro

Best review is based on the Kotaku Review

  • Review written by Luke Plunkett
  • Pick your miniature!
    • Sonic
    • Tails
    • Knuckles
    • or Eggman
  • Gameplay has players building the track as they move forward
    • Items appear to give players a boost
    • Almost like Mario Kart
    • Spikes and enemies can also pop up on the track
  • I am interesting in playing it at a cafe
    • The theme looks on point
  • The concern is variety
    • The variety of track pieces seem lacking
    • Luke suggests a board game called Battle Racers, for a more in-depth race experience

Reminder- The Wii Shop Channel is closing on January 30th!

  • Make sure you’ve purchased and downloaded anything you wanted and put it on the consoles you like, because everything from re-downloading to the Wii System Transfer Tool will be shut down

Update: The Twitter account for the Westworld mobile game we talked about last week has announced that it has been removed from app stores effective immediately, and it will officially be closed on April 16th. In-app purchases have been disabled, and any users with in-game currency left over should spend it before things are shut down

  • It looks like the “amicable solution” here was for WB to completely bail on the entire product

Big news from Bungie- after 8 years they’ve officially cut ties with Activision

  • It seems like things came to a head after Activision expressed disappointment with the new Destiny expansion during an earnings call, basically complaining that it was too focused on end-game players and how they want to “drive stronger engagement and in-game revenue generation”
    • Many were worried that this was a signal the micro-transactions would go back to how bad they were when Destiny 2 first launched, with a lot of content locked away behind dollar signs
  • Bungie released a statement thanking Activision for their partnership, and announced that the publishing rights to Destiny will go with Bungie when they leave
  • Looks like even though they’re working on new projects the Destiny community can still look forward to content and support while Bungie self-publishes their content
  • That said, it’ll be interesting to see how the game evolves- Activision likely wasn’t behind all of the problems with Destiny, but if nothing else this will mean the game stays more true to a single company’s vision. Time will tell what that vision is like

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is in the news this week after its director apologized for forcing characters into a heterosexual marriage

  • The game has previously been hailed as a step forward, in which you can play as a man or a woman (a series first) and, though you’re presented with a potential partner of the opposite sex, you can choose to pursue same-sex romance options (or just run around and not romance anybody, as you prefer)
  • Unfortunately the latest DLC pack, Legacy of the First Blade, breaks that thread and has your character getting married and pumping out a kid
  • It may seem like it’s not a big deal but these kinds of games have players building up a personal story for the characters and how they interact, and this kind of sudden jarring change removes a whole layer of immersion for many players
    • A lot of fans feel that it’s entirely at odds with how the main character is developed leading up to that point, with little to no motivation for the sudden personality switch
  • According to creative director Jonathan Dumont the intention was that it was a child to carry on your bloodline to the lineage of assassins shown elsewhere in the series, and to let players choose between a utilitarian view of continuing your legacy or forming an actual romantic relationship, but the clarity and motivation was poorly executed
    • There are no plans to change the current DLC, but he’s said that future chapters will be mindful of how they missed the mark

Apparently EA just can’t get enough hate as it is, so they’ve gone ahead and cancelled yet another Star Wars game

  • This one has a bit of a history- it started at Visceral Games, and would have been a linear action-adventure game directed by Amy Hennig, the same woman that directed the Uncharted franchise
  • Then EA closed Visceral back in 2017, and rebooted the game at EA Vancouver into something open-world with the excuse that single-player linear games are dead
    • Thank you Spider-Man and God of War for proving them oh so very wrong
  • There are rumours that this one (where you would play as a scoundrel or bounty hunter exploring various open-world planets and working with different factions) was cancelled because it wouldn’t come out soon enough, which seems like a weird reason to keep rebooting projects
    • Apparently they might be starting work on another smaller-scale Star Wars title, but people aren’t holding on to much hope that it will amount to anything
    • For me, hope for a good SW game from EA died with 1313
  • On the plus side, Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order is still slated for a fall 2019 release. So that’s something

Interesting legal news from the US- federal judge Kanis Westmore has ruled that FaceID and TouchID can’t be compelled by law enforcement

  • Ruling basically applies the same rights against self-incrimination to biometrics that previously applied only to passcodes
  • Westmore wrote: “If a person cannot be compelled to provide a passcode because it is testimonial communication, a person cannot be compelled to provide one’s finger, thumb, iris, face, or other biometric feature to unlock that same device. The undersigned finds that a biometric feature is analogous to the 20 nonverbal, physiological responses elicited during a polygraph test, which are used to determine guilt or innocence, and are considered testimonial.”
  • This could still be overturned, and there are already cases where judges have allowed authorities to compel biometric phone unlocks in the past, but it shows that the legal system is slowly catching up with modern tech
  • In the meantime, just a quick reminder since I’m a paranoid guy, if you restart your phone or bring up the emergency screen on an iPhone by hitting the power button 5 times quickly it will disable TouchID and FaceID, and force a passcode unlock which has always been protected

Tidbits

  • Netflix is being sued over their interactive movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
    • Apparently they’ve been in negotiations with Chooseco, a publishing company specializing in children’s books, over the Choose Your Own Adventure trademark for years but never actually gained permission to use it
    • Chooseco is suing for $25M in damages, saying Bandersnatch benefits from association with the Choose Your Own Adventure series without actually getting the license to use the name
  • The final season of Game of Thrones will be coming on April 14th, and they released a teaser on YouTube to get the hype-train rolling!
  • PlayStation VR has released its third digital “demo disc”, featuring superstars like Moss, Thumper, Superhot VR, and Astro Bot Rescue Mission
  • There’s an interesting theory going around that Facebook’s ’10 Year Challenge’ could be a way to train facial recognition on age progression
    • Rather than having to comb through user photos, they’re having clean, simple, helpfully labelled sets of photos that they could use to teach computers what people are likely to look like as they get older

Titans mini-review

  • Pretty solid, once they got “fuck Batman” out of their system
  • Took the characters in interesting directions, and gets you invested right before the evil season finale cliffhanger

Recommend Venom (2018)

  • I was expecting some mindless action, but I found myself caring about the plot and characters
  • The symbiote’s characterization is a little sudden, but it felt fresh and interesting
  • Solid superhero movie even for people that don’t like Spider-Man