If nothing else, Workers & Resources Colon Soviet Republic will give anyone an appreciation of the incredible complexity and difficulty of building and maintaining a city. On another day I might call it the first ever city building game.
Even a Settlers or Factorio cannot match its extreme focus on logistical simulation. It isn’t realism for its own sake (look no further than the automated vehicles and the ludicrous citizen behaviour to refute that), but a fundamentally different interpretation of what city building means. It’s about co-ordinating all your pieces so they’ll be in the right place to support each other, and how the whole is all that matters, but that whole will fail if you don’t organise its parts. It is… a lot. It’s too much at times. But if you have those times, it will occupy them like nothing else.
As part of the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, Capcom revealed Ace Attorney Investigations Collection which contains remasters of two spin-offs from the series. This includes both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2, the latter of which never released outside of Japan. Both games have you controlling Miles Edgeworth and feature characters from throughout the mainline series.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will feature updated artwork for a more modern look, but you’ll be able to swap to the original pixel art at anytime. It’s set to release on Nintendo Switch on September 6 of this year.
As part of the June 2024 Nintendo Direct announcements, the previously Apple Arcade exclusive RPG Fantasian is coming to Nintendo Switch this holiday season. It is the latest game from developer Mistwalker, which is led by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Fantasian is a full-fledged story-driven RPG with turn-based combat and features music from longtime Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.
Thanks to today’s Nintendo Direct Showcase, we have had our first look at Nintendo Switch Sports next sport update: Basketball.
The new mode will be tipping off on Switch this summer and promises a handful of different game modes including solo three-point contest, 2-on-2 and more.
Minecraft is, very often, just a nice place to potter about in. But its call to adventure rings loudly in my square ears, and now that the Tricky Trials update has dotted the underground with action-heavy, loot-filled Trial Chambers, I’m simply powerless to resist.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun: Breathing Retro Life into the Cast of Enemies
Mark Chambers, Lead Artist, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a fast-paced, retro-inspired FPS that comes with buckets of pixelated gore. Taking on the role of a Space Marine, players previously had the chance to blast their way through a variety of Warhammer 40,000 inspired environments, and now we’re thrilled to announce the next expansion to our boomer-shooter saga!
Boltgun: Forges of Corruption offers more enemies, more levels, and even more mayhem, so with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at everything that goes into crafting the perfect outlet for your righteous rage… the enemies!
Choosing the Best
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is full of incredible character art, and the team here at Auroch were spoilt for choice when it came to picking a cast of enemies. Using initial design requirements as a guide, the first step was to collect as much reference as we could. This helped to confirm things like size, colours, details, and even which weapons or items to include. Shots of real life miniatures made this task even easier, and the Games Workshop website proved to be extremely useful.
Shapes are Important
Once a good library of reference has been established, the process of creating a retro enemy sprite can begin. It starts with a conventional method you’d find in most other games, by modelling a 3d mesh. However, we pay special attention to the overall shapes of our characters, pushing things like heroic proportions and creating silhouettes that players can easily identify. In Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, enemies are shown from the front a majority of the time, so we always ensure the front view captures them in their best light.
Exaggerated Angles
In a similar way to how we model characters, things on the animation side tend to focus on exaggerated poses and frame timing that really sells the intent of an animation. In order to capture that ‘retro’ magic, we use minimal frames, so it’s important to pack all the visual information we want into a tiny, animated space. The impact point of a crushing punch can be held slightly longer, or the juddering of weapon’s rapid fire can be sped up into a chaotic blur. This level of single frame control is almost like working with stop motion.
Special FX
Once an enemy has been modeled, animated and rendered, we start working on the FX. This step adds dynamism and interactivity, and the way we use FX for enemy attacks are particularly important. Not only do they need to look amazing, but there’s a set of game mechanics that should be followed. Certain weapons fire at different speeds, projectiles have different trails, and explosions have different sizes. All enemy attacks in Boltgun come in three distinct types, magical Tzeentch, organic Nurgle or combustible human, and it’s important for players to be able to visually distinguish between them, using colours, shapes, and various other artistic techniques.
Blood and Guts
One of the cornerstones of Boltgun is its stylistic gore, and the most satisfying way of bringing our enemies to life is seeing the crimson mess that results when they expire. We’ve built a gore system in a way that enables players to effectively ‘paint’ sections of our levels with the red of previous battles, something that’s both awesome, and can be useful as a pathfinding tool. Lastly, each enemy comes complete with a set of custom body parts, or ‘gibs’ as we like to call them. These have a habit of bursting outwards when an enemy has been destroyed, offering just one more level of detail to the interactive package that is your typical Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun enemy.
A Place to Call Home
Finally, what good would combining all the amazing elements above be without giving our enemies a proper place to live? We use visual theming to really set the scene. A sickly green haze suggests an area infested by Nurgle, where as the chaotic purple of the warp means the presence of Tzeentch is near. We also use decals to add extra detail to floors and walls, giving players the impression that they’re moving from one territory to the next. And lastly, a well thought-out prop library can really help with the storytelling aspect of a map.
As the game progresses, players may notice evidence of previous conflicts such as fortifications, military supplies, corpses, sacrificial shrines, and much more. Adding things like this helps to make the experience of encountering enemies in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun feel more alive and real.
So now you’ve been given an insight into some of the tips and tricks the team here at Auroch uses to create AI for players to blast away at or run screaming from. We’ve worked hard to customize the standard character art pipeline you’d see in most modern games, and produced a result we’re proud to say is one of the cornerstones of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun’s unique retro aesthetic.
Unleash your mighty wrath in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun DLC: Forges of Corruption, out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC for $5,99! For newcomers, a special edition containing the base game and the DLC is also available for $24,99. EnjoyWarhammer 40,000: Boltgun on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Xbox Game Pass!
Load up your Boltgun and plunge into battle headfirst! Experience a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, classic, frenetic FPS gameplay and the stylish visuals of your favourite 90’s retro shooters.
Play a battle-hardened Space Marine on a perilous mission across the galaxy, as they battle against the Chaos Space Marines and daemons of Chaos.
In glorious boomer shooter style, unleash your devastating Space Marine arsenal as you blast through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood. Run, jump and charge across huge levels to shoot, shred and slice the worst heretics across the galaxy!
• Dive into a visceral combat experience, complete with viciously satisfying gunplay, high mobility and buckets of blood to reward your skills
• Dominate the battlefield with the awesome firepower and heavy metal of a Space Marine’s devastating arsenal
• Experience the ultimate homage to retro shooters, blending stylish visuals with fluid, modern FPS gameplay
When we developed the PlayStation Portal remote player, our goal was to bring high-quality console gaming experiences to the palm of your hands, even when you aren’t in front of the TV. We continue to evolve the experience on PS Portal, and we are happy to announce that the latest system software update for our first dedicated remote play device will start rolling out tomorrow – adding a few new user enhancements.
Sign-in screen support for select public Wi-Fi networks
While we recommend PS Portal to be used in your home as you have control over the quality of the Wi-Fi, it can also be used outside of the home in places where a fast and stable Wi-Fi connection is available – and we’ve seen many players take advantage of this.
With this new update, PS Portal will also connect to a range of public Wi-Fi networks* that may require additional validation steps beyond entering the network password. This includes Wi-Fi networks with sign-in screens that can often be found in hotels, cafes, and airports.
To connect to these public Wi-Fi networks, PS Portal will display a QR code for you to scan with your smartphone or tablet. Once scanned, you’ll be able to use your mobile device’s web browser to complete the additional validation steps on behalf of your PS Portal. As a reminder, PS Portal requires a Wi-Fi connection with at least 5Mbps, and for a better play experience a high-speed connection of at least 15Mbps is recommended.
New visual feedback for touchpad areas
The emulated touch pad on PS Portal’s vibrant 8-inch screen is getting an update. We’ve added new visual feedback to the touch pad areas. The new effects will be displayed when using the touch pad areas during remote play.
Display battery level in percentage
You now have the option to display the remaining battery level percentage on the status bar at the top right corner of your screen. To use this feature, open the quick menu, go to [Settings] > [System] > [Battery], and then turn on [Show Battery Percentage].
Since the initial launch of PS Portal last November, we’ve been overwhelmed with the enthusiastic reactions and the variety of ways our community has been enjoying gaming on PS Portal. While Remote Play for PlayStation has been available since the PlayStation 3 generation, we’ve built upon this technology with PS Portal to elevate the Remote Play experience to another level by integrating key features of the DualSense wireless controller with a vibrant 8-inch LCD screen.
We’re excited to see that PS Portal has introduced many more gamers to the Remote Play feature on PS5, with over 60 percent of PS Portal owners using the feature for the first time**. What’s more, PS Portal is making it easier for many players to access their games, with the average PS Portal owner’s engagement on PS5 going up within the first 8 weeks of using their PS Portal.
We’ve also seen a wide range of games proven to be popular on PS Portal, from single player adventures including God of War Ragnarök, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Astro’s Playroom to multiplayer titles including Fortnite, Rocket League and EA Sports FC 24 – all being some of the most played games on PS Portal within the first 3 months of its launch***.
We’re always grateful to the PlayStation community for embracing our journey as we continue to explore different ways to bring new player experience. Check out the official website to learn more about PS Portal and let us know what you think in the comments!
*To connect to public networks, make sure that the initial setup for your PS Portal is completed. Authentication requires use of another device that can connect to the public network, such as a smartphone. Public networks that operate at 5GHz are not supported. **Internal Data from Nov 2020 – April 2024 ***Internal Data from Nov 15 2023 – Feb 15 2024
Swedish games company Paradox, best known for Crusader Kings, Cities Skylines, and Stellaris, said it had “decided to cease further operations” in Berkeley, California-based Tectonic in a move that affects the studio’s 24 staff.
“This is difficult and drastic news for our colleagues at Tectonic, who’ve worked hard on Life by You’s Early Access release,” Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, said.
“Sadly, with cancellation of their sole project we have to take the tough decision to close down the studio. We are deeply grateful for their hard work in trying to take Paradox into a new genre.”
Tectonic had worked on Life by You since 2019. It’s the latest in a string of recent failures from Paradox, which Wester has said will spark an evaluation of how the company manages its projects. “We have a very solid financial position and a strong core game portfolio, which keeps us confident about our future,” Wester insisted.
This is difficult and drastic news for our colleagues at Tectonic.
Last year’s disastrous release of Cities Skylines 2, which developer Colossal Order is still working to address, was just one title that hit Paradox’s bottom line as well as its reputation. In October 2023, Paradox called The Lamplighters League a “big disappointment” as it was forced to record a $22 million write-down. Paradox has also delayed jail sim Prison Architect 2 a number of times, the latest to this September after the discovery of “unexpected issues occurring too often.” The Paradox-published Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has endured a troubled development too, although a release date now looks in sight.
The closure of Tectonic is the latest in a string of studio closures and layoffs that have hit the video game industry hard in recent years. Thousands of staff have been impacted by cuts right across the industry, with layoffs at the likes of Microsoft, Sony, and Embracer, to name a few. Just this week Embracer shut down Pieces Interactive after Alone in the Dark failed to meet sales expectations.
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.
Elden Ring creator and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has said he won’t allow the devastating video game industry layoffs to affect his studio as long as he’s in charge.
FromSoftware is owned by Japanese organization Kadokawa Corporation so the decision isn’t wholly in Miyazaki’s hands, however. Microsoft, for example, shut down Redfall developer Arkane Austin alongside Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwire Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks in May 2024 despite posting a 17% increase in revenue and $21.9 billion in profit in its latest financial earnings report.
As long as this company is my responsibility, that’s something I would not let happen.
But Miyazaki appeared confident Kadokawa shares his opinion on layoffs. “Speaking to myself and this company, I want to say that this is not something I would wish on the staff at FromSoftware in a million years,” he said. “I’m pretty sure our parent company Kadokawa understands that and shares that view.”
He then referenced former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who famously took a pay cut himself when profits were down instead of resorting to layoffs. “I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world,” Iwata said at the time.
Miyazaki echoed this statement. “I think it was the old ex-president of Nintendo, Iwata, who said ‘people who are afraid of losing their jobs are afraid of making good things.’ I’m paraphrasing that, but I totally share this view,” he said.
“I think it’s true, and I think the people at Kadokawa, our parent company, understand that I hold this view very strongly. While we can’t say 100% — we can’t say with complete certainty what the future’s going to hold for From and Kadokawa — at least as long as this company is my responsibility, that’s something I would not let happen. So hopefully our players and our fans can take a little bit of assurance from that.”
Steam Next Fest 2024 has formally ended, we’ve spent a couple of weeks gorging upon demos of all stripes, from oil spill clean-up to dancefloor kendo, and now comes the all-important process of deciding which of those demos Won. Valve have helpfully shared a list of the most played Steam demos during this latest, gravest round of next festivity, and it covers a reasonable range. I mean, I wasn’t that surprised to see an open worldsurvivalshooter with monsters at the top of the ladder – why else would we dedicate a bunch of Best Of features to such things? – but I am surprised that number three is a leering parody of neglect. Also, there’s a game about mopping dungeons that appeals strongly to my Dungeon Meshi-watching sensibilities.
