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From: www.gamesradar.com

XCOM 2 Mod Tools Will Result in "Fantastic" Creations: Jake Solomon

Added: 29.07.2015 13:00 | 34 views | 0 comments


XCOM 2 is wearing its PC pride on its sleeve. The upcoming strategy game is a confirmed PC exclusive, with creative director Jake Solomon previously stating that the game couldn't have been made in the same way on the current generation of consoles. We recently spoke to Solomon about why PC was the natural home for XCOM 2, as well as finding out more about how developer Firaxis is planning to support mods and the modding community.

GameSpot: You've previously stated that XCOM 2 is a PC exclusive because it was the only platform that could help you realise your goals for the game. Can you give us more detail on what those goals are, and in what ways consoles couldn't achieve them?

Jake Solomon: Our first goal is to make a great XCOM game. A game about loss and overcoming obstacles, with intense combat and a strategic component that feeds cleanly into that. We looked at what people were asking for in terms of making XCOM: Enemy Unknown more replayable along with the new elements we wanted, including procedural levels, new skills, new enemies, more customization and modding. When we saw what it meant to implement all of these elements into the game, we knew we had our work cut out for us. Our studio has its most experience building strategy games on PC, and we needed to take advantage of that core expertise and focus on making the very best XCOM we could on the platform we knew the best.

How early in the development process did you realise PC-only was the way to go?

We came to that realization early in development. It’s something we feel strongly about and have stuck with since

Having said that, what are the chances that we see XCOM 2 on Xbox One and PS4 someday, perhaps in a modified form? Or even mobile platforms?

Right now we’re really focused on the PC version. We’re enthusiastic about the possibility of other platform versions, but making the best XCOM for PC is what we’re working on right now.

Given that maps are procedurally generated, how is XCOM 2 telling its story? Will "story missions" have their own pre-made maps? What kind of events can we expect to encounter that will escalate that story?

We do have some story beats within the game, in that you have milestones to guide your progress. Some of those story moments have specific level assets, but they can appear within the context of a procedurally-generated level, which means you’re never going to see the same key items in the same map from game to game. We’ll have more to say about the story; I just don’t want to be the spoiler, yet.

We saw the concept of personal, physical sacrifice for mechanical or genetic upgrades in Enemy Within. Will that carry over into XCOM 2 at all? Perhaps in the option to upgrade soldiers with the DNA and genes of your alien oppressors to create hybrids?

In our story, the XCOM project never really got off the ground, and never so much as slowed the alien invasion. This is true for most people’s games of XCOM: Enemy Unknown--they resulted in a loss, especially the first time around. Narratively, this lets us have players start out as the ultimate underdog. But it also means XCOM never got around to messing with genes and giving people mechanical limbs.

How is Firaxis planning to support the game post release? Does it plan to support the community and promote mods to highlight the better creation?

Improved support for modding was one of the pillars of the design of XCOM 2. And a lot of the changes we’ve made to the game are designed to open up more systems to modders. We also plan to offer modding tools and Steam workshop support.

Civilization has benefited immensely from a talented and long-standing mod community, and the Long War mod team has done incredible things with our game despite it not being super mod-friendly. I’m confident giving the community proper modding tools is going to result in some fantastic mods.

If we do release content after launch, I hope players would be interested in what we were offering.

Is there a worry that the availability of mods may impact any DLC plans?

I don’t think that mods or post-release content are an either-or proposition. If we do release content after launch, I hope players would be interested in what we were offering. Again, Civilization has had both mods and DLC, and players seem happy with those options.

Will the more popular tweaks and changes made by community be rolled back into the main experience, if they're deemed as beneficial?

When we make changes to our game, we generally look at it in the context of the unmodified game. It’s possible that we’d come across the same solution as a modder, but we usually don’t start with a mod and then look at how we would incorporate that into the game.

Valve allows mods to be monetised, and this is an area publishers and developers are exploring. Are there any plans to allow people to sell mods?

Like I mentioned above, modding is a big pillar for XCOM 2 and we’re excited to be supporting Steam Workshop and offering more tools, but we can’t confirm any plans for paid mods at this time.

From: www.gamespot.com

12 legitimately famous folks who legitimately love games

Added: 29.07.2015 12:47 | 51 views | 0 comments


Please Internet, not another list of vapid celebrity shills all spouting their undying love for Angry Birds. No more putrid publicity sponges, no more preening plastics. No more 'famous for the sake of it' types all carping on about their 'Call of Destiny' addictions. Tell me this: when did actual talent take a big back seat to owning the best-dressed Chihuahua? *intense, frothy-mouthed rage begins* But I digress… This list isn't about those sorts of celebrities, oh no. GamesRadar+ dosen't play that way, and neither it seems do our 12 famous gamers.

These are the (genuinely) notable names who actually do play games. Busy people with big careers, who still find the time to indulge their virtual vices. Some act, others fight, while a great many attempt to make us laugh. What's more - most of them are actually good at it, having achieved their careers than pissing themselves outside of a nightclub, and/or being papped brawling inside of a Burger King. Begin!

Who? - Picture a heavily anesthetised, flesh-coloured bowling ball. Et Voila: Vin Diesel. Best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast Furious franchise and Riddick in the, er, Riddick series, Big Vin has also lent his considerable talents/bassy whale noises to Guardians of the Galaxy and The Iron Giant.

Gaming street cred - According to the big man himself, Diesel's geekery began with tabletop gaming, an activity into which he admits pouring countless hours. Next came video games, including a small but significant number of his own creations, including the critically acclaimed Xbox shooter Escape From Butcher Bay. Diesel's Tigon Studios has since worked on three more titles, including the underwhelming Wheelman, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (released alongside an updated Butcher Bay) and a Riddick iOS adventure, before shutting down and later recommencing work in September of 2013.

Favourite games? - While Vin's DD obsession is well documented, the man's video gaming habits remain something of a mystery. That being said, we do know that Diesel plays World of Warcraft, having released a video of himself roaming the lands of Azeroth alongside the late Paul Walker.

Who? - An oftentimes zany, if thoroughly endearing comic presence who appeared in dozens of celebrated roles. Williams made his name in stand up, before moving on to television and later film.

Gaming street cred - Of all the famous faces included on this list, Robin Williams was perhaps the biggest and best known gamer of the bunch, taking seemingly every opportunity to discuss his digital pastime. Numerous interviews all attest to the man's deep appreciation for the medium, including, but not limited to, late night play sessions, trash talking contests, and an-up-to date knowledge of the latest gaming trends. Oh, and he also named his daughter after Zelda's titular princess. Credibility level: One-hundred million bajillion.

Favourite games? - The Legend of Zelda, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Half-Life, Portal, Battlefield

Who? - The dominant power in women's MMA, Rousey remains best known for her unusual fight celebrations, which typically involve pulling someone's arm off and then using it to high five everyone in attendance. She's also appeared in a number of big budget Hollywood action movies, including Furious 7 and The Expendables 3.

Gaming street cred - Rousey has spoken at length regarding her obsessive love of Pokémon games, having owned every iteration of the franchise to date, including titles hailing from the same generation, i.e. both Red and Blue. Speaking of Blue, Rousey's first dip into the Pokémon series currently logs well over 200 hours of gameplay, just for that one title alone. Multiply that by 24 mainline and dozens more spin-off titles and you have one truly hardcore gamer.

Favourite games? - Anything vaguely Pokémon, with the exception of Pokémon Pinball.

Who? - A man so fantastically British he even has the White Cliffs of Dover for a face, sort of. Craggy, weather worn and yet somehow massively enchanting - or so the ladies tell me - Craig portrays the current iteration of James 'the STI conveyor belt' Bond.

Gaming street cred - In between stints of saving Britain, hitting the gym and/or inspiring mass hysteria down at the beach, Craig admits to wiling away the hours within a number of expansive and narrative-heavy video games. Action titles are also fair game, though somewhat quicker to outstay their welcome. "Those ultra-violent ones I can play for half-an-hour and then I feel dirty. ‘Vice City’, for example - I think, ‘Oh yes, all right, I’ve stolen 18 cars. I’ve had enough now". What a guy.

Favourite games? - Halo, Red Dead Redemption, Guitar Hero

Who? - Kal-El, son of Jor-El, hails from the planet Krypton. His hobbies include flying, costume design and violent chiropractic medicine. Sorry, Zod.

Gaming street cred - Cavill's love of gaming is probably best expressed by the following Superman-related anecdote. Having already auditioned for the role, Cavill was nervously awaiting news of his casting when director Zack Snyder called up at an inopportune moment. “I saw it was him [on the line] but the thing is, you can’t save World of Warcraft, you can’t pause it. It’s live". Suffice to say that Cavill opted to carry on playing, only returning the call and accepting the job offer of a lifetime later that day. Hats off to you Henry.

Favourite games? - World or Warcraft, Skyrim

Who? - An advanced human-pooch hybrid, capable of laconic, laid back rap. Snoop currently heads up the Feisman institute for lingual research, where he is presently engaged in the 10-year development of a suitable rhyme for 'orange'.

Gaming street cred - The 'D-O-double-G' has been skirting the player/player divide for a long old time, having even attempted to get his own GTA clone - aka Fear Respect - off the ground back in the mid-2000s. Snoop has also appeared in a range of other games, including True Crime: Streets of New York, Def Jam: Fight for NY and as a special announcer in 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts. What's more, the iconic Californian-born rapper even started up his own musicians-only games tournament - the Hip-Hop Gaming League - hosting the last such event in 2007.

Favourite games? - Madden, NBA2K, FIFA

Who? - Prolific comedy actor best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in Arrested Development and as the voice of Batman in The Lego Movie. Founding member of the Magician's Alliance.

Gaming street cred - Unlike the vast majority of the preening celebrity pitch men brought in to shill video games, Will Arnett is an actual bona fide gamer. So much so in fact that the man's short-lived XBL comedy series 'Game Chat' was actually dreamed up by Arnett himself. The show's core concept - that of 3 friends hanging out and playing brand new video games (Xbox marketing's contribution) - was partially inspired by the actor's own experiences of playing online. So, just who does a man like Will Arnett choose to party up with - well, just about anyone really, as the comic admits he's never once been outed online. More regular teammates include fellow actors Jason Bateman, Jerry O'Connell, and Justin Theroux.

Favourite games? - Call of Duty, Zoo Tycoon, Forza Motorsport

Who? - An ebullient Irish comic, Ó Briain also hosts the long running TV panel show Mock the Week. A household name in the United Kingdom, Ó Briain once tried to translate the dreary, mathematical, non-exploding bits of high school science into mainstream TV. He failed, or err... succeeded, depending on how you look at it.

Gaming street cred - Ó Briain hosted the British Academy Game Awards for a whopping six years in a row, and has admitted that his familiarity with the medium often surprised organisers more used to dealing with less involved hosts. Not only that, but the celebrated stand up has also incorporated many game-related jokes into his regular comic routines, discussing everything from 'video game logic' to outdated views on the hobby.

Favourite games? - Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect 2, Skyrim, Portal, FIFA

Who? - Mila Kunis may sound like the name of a bizarre Eastern European delicacy, probably composed of some old spinach, cow's eyes and gruel, but she's actually a female human - who acts! Yes, Mila has appeared in all sorts of fare over the years, from light-hearted comedies, to the occasional sci-fi mega flop. Oh and she's also responsible for voicing Meg Griffin in Family Guy. Lucky girl.

Gaming street cred - Technically speaking, Kunis may well fall into the 'lapsed gamer' category, though given the dates involved, it's clear that the actress was still playing away up until a relatively short time ago. This was no Candy Crush addiction either, Kunis was a big time World of Warcraft enthusiast, oftentimes engaging in all-day play sessions. Sadly, it seems that over time many of Kunis' friends moved on from the title, eventually gutting the fun factor and forcing Mila to bid her adieus to Azeroth.

Favourite games? - World of Warcraft, Settlers of Catan

Who? - The archetypal slacker made good, Jack Black divides his time between acting, comedy and music making, combining all three in the character of Jables, lead singer for the comic rock band Tenacious D.

Gaming street cred - Jack Black may well be the least surprising entrant on this list, what with his working relationship with Double Fine Studios and general 'gamer guy' vibe. Black asserts that his interest in gaming began with the original Space Invaders and continued on until at least the time of the original Xbox - though given his involvement in the industry these days, it's entirely possible he's playing as hard as ever. He once sent a picture of himself 'flipping the bird' to the good folks at Bizarre Creations while standing next to an expert mode completion screen. His reasoning: "[Project Gotham Racing] was so fucking hard to conquer on expert mode, to get all Platinum medals in all the events. I was so angry at them for making something so hard that when I conquered it I took a picture […] that proved I conquered it.” Now who hasn’t thought about doing that?

Favourite games? - Project Gotham Racing, Scramble, Marble Madness

Who? - An enormously successful stand up comedian and star of the cult hit sketch show that bears his name. Chappelle's 'Tyrone Biggums' remains the Internet's number one choice in famished crackhead meme making.

Gaming street cred - Chappelle has been known to make reference to video games as part of his stand up comedy routine, and has also parodied the medium on Chappelle's Show. Most notable is his on-point pastiche of the ultra-violent world of Grand Theft Auto, complete with erratic animations and everyday car-jacking antics.

Favourite games? - World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto

Who? - An evil, leather-clad, play-fighting champion. Rollins refers to himself as 'the future of the WWE' and maintains a strong, if entirely scripted contempt for The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. Styles himself after Pepé Le Pew.

Gaming street cred - Rollins recently appeared on fellow pro-wrestler Xavier Woods' , sitting down to play Turtles in Time while discussing his video gaming habits. The self-proclaimed 'Architect of The Shield' - that's the tag-team, not the cop show, admitted to being something of a rage-filled perfectionist during his youth, routinely smashing TV sets after failing to maintain optimum stats within Madden. One noteworthy incident involved a young Rollins - real name Colby Lopez - violently snapping after a buddy made the mistake of mocking the defeated perfectionist. Aggressive, narcissistic, and with an obvious contempt for his friends, it's easy to see how the slimy Seth Rollins character came about.

Favourite games? - The Madden series, Turtles in Time, Batman: Arkham Knight

Five Facts - The Ghost (Destiny)

Added: 29.07.2015 12:19 | 2 views | 0 comments


Jack and Geoff talk about the Ghost from Destiny in this weeks Five Facts. Super Secret Bonus Fact: This video came from the moon.

From: n4g.com

XCOM 2 Exclusive Class Reveal: The Chryssalid

Added: 28.07.2015 13:00 | 18 views | 0 comments


If you’ve played an XCOM game in the past, then you know the chryssalid, the most frightening-looking alien the games depict. In

How will we be able to put these abilities to use in multiplayer?

It's pretty straightforward. We're pretty excited about giving the players the tools for everything they encounter in the game. Then you can make your dream team. They will have costs based on the units that you choose, and then you'll have some chances with soldiers who select different abilities and items at different costs. Things like the chryssalid, you'll be able to include that in your loadout, and then use burrow, and if you kill somebody with a chryssalid poison, you can then choose to multiply. You'll have more chryssalids. That sort of stuff is intact.

I'm curious, in a multiplayer scenario, about that burrow and how that ends up being used against other soldiers. What is it like to play as the chryssalid and use that particular ability? What are the kinds of surprises you would spring upon an enemy in that case?

You kind of think about it like the seeker, how if you go invisible with the seeker using Ghost Armor, it's just thematically now you're going underground, and you can't move while you're invisible. You want to set it up as an anticipatory tactic where you see your opponent potentially move towards, and then you'll get a free attack on them if they move within this radius. That's a way to use it. You can unburrow anytime you want, but it's a nice way to ambush the player with the enemy with that specific skill.

Come back to GameSpot tomorrow (5am PT, July 29 2015) for the next in our series of XCOM 2 exclusives, an interview with series creative director Jake Solomon.

From: www.gamespot.com

XCOM 2 Exclusive Class Reveal: The Chryssalid

Added: 28.07.2015 13:00 | 18 views | 0 comments


If you’ve played an XCOM game in the past, then you know the chryssalid, the most frightening-looking alien the games depict. In

How will we be able to put these abilities to use in multiplayer?

It's pretty straightforward. We're pretty excited about giving the players the tools for everything they encounter in the game. Then you can make your dream team. They will have costs based on the units that you choose, and then you'll have some chances with soldiers who select different abilities and items at different costs. Things like the chryssalid, you'll be able to include that in your loadout, and then use burrow, and if you kill somebody with a chryssalid poison, you can then choose to multiply. You'll have more chryssalids. That sort of stuff is intact.

I'm curious, in a multiplayer scenario, about that burrow and how that ends up being used against other soldiers. What is it like to play as the chryssalid and use that particular ability? What are the kinds of surprises you would spring upon an enemy in that case?

You kind of think about it like the seeker, how if you go invisible with the seeker using Ghost Armor, it's just thematically now you're going underground, and you can't move while you're invisible. You want to set it up as an anticipatory tactic where you see your opponent potentially move towards, and then you'll get a free attack on them if they move within this radius. That's a way to use it. You can unburrow anytime you want, but it's a nice way to ambush the player with the enemy with that specific skill.

Come back to GameSpot tomorrow (5am PT, July 29 2015) for the next in our series of XCOM 2 exclusives, an interview with series creative director Jake Solomon.

From: www.gamespot.com


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