Category: Video Games

Starfield Player Digitally Creates 6,000 Piece LEGO Map of New Atlantis City

A dedicated Starfield player has built a digital LEGO model of New Atlantis from 6,000 individual pieces, with some social media users joking that they might use the reconstruction to help navigate the city in the absence of an actual mini-map.

“I just couldn’t help myself and instead of playing Starfield, I immediately ended up rebricking New Atlantis Roughly 50 hours and 6k pieces later, this is the result,” reads a post from Taris120_Builds, displaying his creation.

The miniature architect used the digital LEGO-building program Bricklink Studio to capture the distinctive sloping design of the MAST building, while also getting the locations of key buildings such as the Pioneer and Orion Towers, and even the New Atlantis transit system correct.

Despite the grand scale of the subject, Taris120_Builds was also able to zero in on the inclusion of specific details, such as the location of greenery, the elevation of the star port, and the number of landing pads. Sadly, it looks like the Constellation Lodge sits just beyond the boundaries of the LEGO reconstruction.

The lack of an exploration minimap has been a bone of contention among some Starfield players who have grown accustomed to the quality of life feature. Naturally, the appearance of the digital block map represented a perfect opportunity for Redditors to poke fun at what they viewed as Bethesda’s glaring design omission.

“The long awaited New Atlantis map. Now I finally get how it works.” said Chemicalroyal5909 in the comments of a Reddit post featuring the reconstruction. “Better than any map THEY gave us…,” wrote Bored_guy_in_DC, while jscne21 added their voice to the chorus of discontent, saying “finally a decent map”.

Others were quick to show their appreciation for the build, with user Lizard1995 saying: “You deserve class 1 citizenship rank for this.” ShikariV, meanwhile, said: “Amazing, I would empty my wallet if this was a real set.”

Prior to the space RPG’s launch, Todd Howard revealed New Atlantis was the largest city Bethesda had ever created. “This is the most complete view of New Atlantis I’ve ever seen, I didn’t realise the spaceport was at a different level than the rest of the city,” said Reddit user fitty50two2. “This puts it all in perspective.”

Be sure to check out IGN’s interactive maps of New Atlantis, Akila City, Neon, and others to get the most out of your time with Starfield.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is Warhammer Mass Effect, and you can own planets

In the grim darkness of the far future, the galaxy is your oyster. Or at least it will be, once you’ve played 100 hours of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, an RPG from Pathfinder developer Owlcat in which you can buy planets, configure your genocidal Dark Eldar friend to strike ten times a turn, and gaze on ruefully as a demon explodes out of your Psyker’s head.

An immediate and shameful disclaimer: I can’t match Nic Reuben’s deep knowledge of the 40K tabletop universe, which saw him ruminating upon the mysteries of the Koronus Expanse back in 2022, while holding Owlcat’s feet to the fire over the absence of space dwarves. The nearest I got to playing 40K as a lad was its Battlefleet Gothic spin-off (which none of my friends were interested in, so when I say “playing”, I mean that I sat in a room staring glumly at some unpainted Lunar-class Cruisers while other kids went out and climbed trees). The framing I’m working with instead, based on an hour of hands-off Rogue Trader gameplay, is that it’s sort of Warhammer Mass Effect, but with XCOM-style turn- and grid-based combat, and while there are opportunities to be a compassionate hero, you fundamentally only have the option of playing Renegade. Let’s dig in!

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Todd Howard on Benefit of Starfield Xbox Exclusivity: ‘When You Think of Zelda You Think of Switch’

Bethesda development chief Todd Howard has discussed the benefits of Starfield being Xbox exclusive, namechecking the brand association Nintendo enjoys with its first party games.

Speaking to the BBC, Howard stressed that working to one console lets the development team “focus”, which in turns “yields a better product”.

“When you’re making something exclusive then the more you can focus,” Howard said. “You know this is the hardware or the thing people are playing on, so the ability to focus on that always yields a better product.

“You do want people to be able to access it of course. But being with Xbox means there is an ease of access for us and I’m told we’re expecting more people playing this launch than anything we’ve ever done before and that’s despite the success of our previous games.”

Starfield, which launches proper today, September 6, as a day-one Game Pass game as well as a premium release on PC and Xbox Series X and S, is seen as a key first-party release for Microsoft after a string of high-profile failures.

Howard’s comments echo those of Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines, who said in June during the trial between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the future of the Activision Blizzard buyout, that developing for fewer platforms has streamlined the process in some cases.

Hines said developers can hold more rounds of quality assurance testing when a game is on fewer platforms, which he called less of a risk than developing for many platforms. Hines insisted Starfield wouldn’t hit its September release date if it were a multiplatform title.

Indeed, exclusivity was a big topic at the trial, during which we also learned that MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones game is also set to be exclusive to Xbox and PC. Arkane’s Harvey Smith has also said the studio canceled the PlayStation 5 version of Redfall following the Xbox acquisition and the exclusivity of The Elder Scrolls 6 is apparently up in the air.

Perhaps more interesting is Howard’s comments about the effect on brands from exclusives. “I do also think people attach brands to certain games. When you think of Zelda you think of the Switch and I think there are times when that can be a real benefit.”

Microsoft will be hoping the launch of Starfield boosts Xbox Series X and S, which has significantly lagged behind console rivals PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. During the aforementioned trial, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was forced to admit Microsoft had lost the console war, and sales data shows Xbox Series X and S have struggled to shift units this year.

If you’re after more cool stuff on Starfield, check out the player who stuffed 20,000 potatoes into a cockpit, opened the door, and revealed the game’s “mind-blowing” physics. If you’re playing, check out IGN’s interactive Starfield map.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Pokémon: Pladean Winds Episode One Is Available Now On YouTube

Deep breath…

The first episode of the Pokémon web series Paldean Winds is available to watch now on The Official Pokémon YouTube channel.

The new miniseries was announced during the August 2023 Pokémon Presents and has been produced by Studio WIT, the same talent behind last year’s Pokémon: Hisuian Snow. Set in the Paldea region — the home region for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet — the Paldean Winds will follow three students from the academy as they make a video showcasing their school.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

STALKER 2 Devs Discuss ‘Imperfect’ gamescom 2023 Demo, Address ‘Downgrade’ Debate

The developers of STALKER 2 have discussed the game’s first hands-on at gamescom 2023 and addressed a “downgrade” debate sparked by a new gameplay trailer.

GSC Game World told IGN it is still targeting a visual quality and level of polish suggested by STALKER 2’s eye-catching 2021 trailer (below). This comes despite the horrendous conditions suffered by the staff at the Ukrainian developer amid the war with Russia, which halted development, displaced staff, and caused a number of delays.

STALKER 2 was at the Microsoft gamescom 2023 booth in hands-on fashion, letting the public and press play the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter for the first time. STALKER 2’s gamescom 2023 gameplay trailer (below) includes footage taken from the build used at the show.

It’s fair to say the build on show was rough. As IGN’s STALKER 2 hands-on preview revealed: “Despite its Unreal Engine 5 base and prominent Microsoft support, the 15-minute gamescom demo suggests that STALKER 2 still sits in the ‘eurojank’ category; the colloquial term for eastern European games that are overly ambitious and technically wobbly.

“This sequel’s animations are stiff, its human faces look like haunted waxworks, the AI struggles to stay smart, and inventory management is fiddly. But in exchange for that you get a Soviet bloc world that feels authentic and layered with opportunity. This demo may have been short, but its small areas featured numerous angles for stealth or action approaches, fun flanking routes, and a variety of side objectives.”

The reaction to the latest STALKER 2 trailer sparked the dreaded “downgrade” claim from some. But what’s actually going on here? Maksym Yanchyi, lead Xbox programmer on Stalker 2, and GSC Game World’s public relations manager, Zakhar Bocharov, explained studio’s approach.

“We decided to take not a marketing approach, like showing something really polished and beautiful in a safe way, but rather a player approach, so you can play it even though it’s imperfect,” Bocharov said.

“Of course there are certain risks implemented because the polishing goes all the way through. But that’s how we decided to approach that, to give players a chance to play the game.”

Bocharov said GSC Game World had seen the “downgrade” reaction from some people following the release of the latest STALKER 2 trailer, but moved to reassure fans there’s more work to be done on the game to improve things.

“When you are constantly releasing marketing materials, trailers, etc, it’s like some people always say that it’s downgraded. You can always see someone unhappy with what they see. I guess that downgrade thing is a result of the game being work in progress first of all. And it can be changed. In certain aspects the demo we showed, it looks more beautiful than the trailer we released.

“The build obviously was a priority for people to play here [gamescom]. Also we wanted them to have a glimpse of what’s in the demo because we’re not sharing it publicly. So it’s like a showreel for the demo, the trailer itself.”

Despite all the ups and downs, our goal in terms of the overall level of graphics on the release is the gameplay video we released in 2021.

Bocharov brought up Epic’s Unreal Engine 5, which GSC Game World is using to build STALKER 2. He highlighted its lighting system, which “generates a huge amount of the overall impression from the picture itself, because the same graphics with different lighting can look extremely different”.

GSC Game World, Bocharov explained, is still figuring out all the technologies Unreal Engine 5 makes available, for example its Lumen Global Illumination tech. “It needs to be adjusted,” Bocharov said. “The engine got constantly updated. Then there are certain aspects which can look slightly worse than they were in terms of lighting. I guess a lot of people are referring to that dog scene — certain things can look like they’re downgraded in the moment, probably they are because it’s work in progress. We are getting there.

“Certain things, they look exactly like they looked back when we showcased the gameplay demo. So I guess what we are aiming for, despite all the ups and downs, our goal in terms of the overall level of graphics on the release is the gameplay video we released in 2021.

“That’s our target visuals, and we are getting there, we are seeing that we’re getting there, but there can be certain humps on the way.”

STALKER 2 is due out early 2024 on PC and Xbox Series X and S.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Epic are hiring for a Fortnite open world survival game

Every now and then I think back to my first experience of Fortnite, back in the dingy early-mid 2010s – a clever but laborious wave defence game inspired by Minecraft and CliffyB’s childhood memories of building sofa cushion forts. I compare this project, which seemed pretty much doomed at the time, with the globe-straddling free-to-play battle royale/concert venue/art gallery/Olympic sport/all-swallowing multiverse Fortnite has become, and I feel extremely old. My sense of time’s crushing burden is not alleviated for learning that Epic are staffing up for work on “a new experience in the Fortnite ecosystem”, which sounds a lot like a Fortnite open worlder. What fresh hell is this, Epic? When will enough be enough?

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The Haunted Chocolatier Developer May Have Teased the Return of a Beloved Stardew Valley Character

Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has revealed a new screen from his upcoming game The Haunted Chocolatier, which has some fans convinced a beloved Stardew Valley character is set to make an appearance in the highly anticipated confectionery store simulator.

The scene in question shows an old, white-bearded man in bed, with an unnamed companion standing at the bedside. Both the book-strewn darkened room around the pair and the waking man’s clothes seem to give off a distinctly wizardy vibe, with the only other information coming in a cryptic text box containing eight simple words: “…I was just having the most terrible dream.”

Excited fans in the comments were quick to point out the man in the picture looks a lot like the beloved Grandpa from Stardew Valley, who gifts the player his farm at the beginning of the game, seemingly on his deathbed, and periodically comes back to judge your achievements in etherial form.

While it’s possible the waking man could be a different person to the farm-gifting Grandpa we know, one fan had a particularly interesting theory that potentially links the worlds of Stardew Valley and the Haunted Chocolatier together through this bearded enigma.

“Okay HEAR ME OUT,” began X user Startupwithmads. “Haunted Chocolatier is synchronous with Stardew Valley – Grandpa gives one grandchild the farm, and the other the chocolate shop (Grandpa is a multi-industry mogul). The Stardew Valley character we all play has a sibiling in another town, running another family business.”

Elsewhere in the comments fans began speculating about the dream itself, suggesting it had involved the events of the earlier game, while others suggested the appearance of Grandpa may mean The Haunted Chocolatier is a prequel to Stardew Valley.

Naturally, ConcernedApe failed to explain who the man or his mysterious companion are, or the meaning behind the bad dream. However, the developer did reveal there is “plenty more” he has yet to reveal, and that he was sitting on a haul of Haunted Chocolatier images the Stardew Valley creator could release, if the mood so takes him.

“I am working on the [Stardew Valley] 1.6 update right now, but just wanted to share a HC screenshot,” replied the developer to one curious fan. “I’m sitting on a lot of screenshots that I could share, just felt like it.” ConcernedApe also recently revealed he is creating a cookbook featuring 50 Stardew Valley recipes, including the Strange Bun, Survival Burger, and Pink Cake, which go on sale spring 2024.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Dune: Spice Wars gets a 1.0 release date alongside a devious new faction

I never got round to playing Shiro’s 4X-plus-RTS adaptation of Dune, but chuckling spice baron Nic Reuben deemed it “intricate”, “polished” and “well-considered” in his early access review last year, and I trust his nose for these things. The game now has a 1.0 release date – 14th September 2023 – which will also bring a sixth major content update featuring the politically adept House Ecaz faction – who, if the press release speaks true, “wield power like a paint brush”. You love to see it!

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Starfield Got an Inventory UI Revamp Mod Inside of a Week

Starfield has launched proper today, September 6, with an astonishing number of mods already available after a week of early access.

One of the most popular mods on NexusMods revamps the game’s inventory user interface, addressing a key complaint with Bethesda’s sci-fi role-playing game.

M8r98a4f2’s StarUI Inventory mod improves all inventory screens for Starfield on PC. There’s a new compact display style, more details in sortable columns, item category icons, and loads of quality-of-life features.

As IGN Starfield reviewer Dan Stapleton pointed out, Starfield’s inventory management is “shockingly bad”.

“To avoid becoming overloaded you’ll constantly need to transfer the weapons, space suits, materials, and alien goo you’ve collected between your inventory and your companion’s, or to and from your ship’s cargo hold, but maddeningly you can’t view the contents and capacities of both the giving and receiving container at the same time,” Stapleton wrote.

“You’re just blindly dumping things out of one until you get a message saying the other is full. All the while, much of the screen is wasted on an overly large image of an item. It’s a bizarre and aggravating step backward from Fallout 4, and the kind of thing I expect modders to remedy within a week of launch.”

It turns out Dan was right: modders did sort out Starfield’s inventory management within a week of launch. And it looks like many other Starfield players agree a fix was sorely needed. The StarUI Inventory mod is currently the eighth most-downloaded Starfield mod on NexusMods, with 58,545 total downloads at the time of publication.

If you’re after more cool stuff on Starfield, check out the player who stuffed 20,000 potatoes into a cockpit, opened the door, and revealed the game’s “mind-blowing” physics. If you’re playing, check out IGN’s interactive Starfield map.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.