Month: September 2020

Bots that cheat, spam racist comments, and generally ruin games have become and remain a big problem in Valve’s Team Fortress 2.

The newest solution by an unknown player (or group of players) pits the “good” bots against “bad” bots. Called extermination bots, these new non-human players target cheating bots, and according to a Twitter user who shared screenshots of the bots in action, “they’re friendly with true players, [and] they will help you.” They’ve also been sighted in-game in bot takedown video compilations.

Team Fortress 2’s recent bot issues began with players noticing a disturbing level of bot infiltrations earlier this year, outlets reporting on it, Valve taking minor steps to address the bot issue, and lately, a subset of players taking the matters into their own hands by creating extermination bots.

Valve tried to implement an anti-bot fix in June 2020 by preventing “certain new accounts” from using the chat function in official matchmaking modes. But commented that it is still searching for ways to “mitigate the use of new and free accounts for abusive purposes.”

Team Fortress 2 players have made attempts to resist the bots, created communities like TF2HackerSwat (formerly TF2HackerPolice) to share information about them. A moderator of that Reddit community, WordpuzzleQ, shared with Kotaku what players in the subreddit do against bots: “We use TF2’s wide array of unlocks to be as resistant to the instant headshots as possible. Second priority are high-DPS loadouts. We try to get the Steam accounts of the bots and report them, as that’s the most we can do.” A player also developed a TF2 bot detector that automatically detects and votekicks bots.

Unfortunately, even with the players’ efforts, bots still remain an issue in Team Fortress 2. And though the extermination bot is a fun twist in the war against bots, it’s hardly a final cure. A fix by Valve looks uncertain as well, since a Valve employee confirmed in 2019 that “there’s hardly anyone working on it.” Until a more effective solution is released, the Team Fortress 2 community will have to continue fighting against bots on their own.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remastered is out now and I’m sure many of you folks out there playing it want to mess around with cheats or mods. Well, to get them all, it’s quite simple: Just complete the THPS 1 and THPS 2 tours and you’ll unlock them.

You have the most useful ones right off the bat, though. Mods like perfect balance, no bailing, and full special meter are available as assists, which come in handy if you’re having trouble with some aspects of the tours–there’s also no consequence or drawback from using them outside of ranked modes. However, the more silly ones are locked behind finishing the tours. Once you complete the THPS 1 tour, you get Skater Size–you can be massive and take up most of the screen, or you can be vewy smol and make it impossible to see what tricks you’re doing.

After finishing the THPS 2 tour, you get a few more mods. These include doubling the base score of your tricks, further modifying your skater’s stats in session, and some graphics filters. The filters are “Green Boy” that makes things look greenish like an old Game Boy, “Inverted” which inverts the color spectrum, “Black and White” which is self-explanatory, and “Old Timey” that looks like a sepia tone effect.

Note that you do not need to achieve 100% completion of objectives in either THPS 1 or THPS 2 tour to unlock these game mods, you just need to make it to the last competition in the level select and finish it. Once you’re done with those tours, the cheats will be available in the pause menu just like the assists and moveset options.

• Double Base Score (On or Off)
• Stats (Expert, Normal, Super)
• Graphics (Normal, Inverted, Black and White, Green Boy, Old Timey)
• Skater Size (Tiny, Normal, Giant)

We have much more coverage on this excellent nostalgia trip, so be sure to read our Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remastered review in which author Mat Paget said, “Playing through the newly remade levels is immensely enjoyable, and that on its own is enough to call Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 a success. However, smart additions and an engaging challenge system make it an experience that’s more than just a brief skate through Tony Hawk’s past.”We also have a tip on how to unlock the secret character Officer Dick who’s played by actor Jack Black, and you can read about how culturally impactful the THPS series has been for many of us.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sent players on dozens of quests to help protect Hyrule from Ganon. Players had hoped they’d get the chance to rebuild Castle Town, one of the main locations across the Zelda series, once they finished the game’s main quest line, but they never got the chance. Holomento, an upcoming RPG, wants to give players the chance to rebuild its in-game castle town. It’s not Hyrule, but players can use their imagination.

“I’ve always wanted to rebuild/upgrade Hyrule Castle in Breath of the Wild and I figured it would be fun to try something similar in my game,” said game developer Sean Weech in a Reddit post. “Once you clear the central castle dungeon in the game, you will have the opportunity to upgrade various parts of the castle by removing boulders, replanting trees and more.”

Holomento is an upcoming third-person RPG developed by Weech. It’s scheduled to launch in 2021 and is currently in a closed alpha.

Breath of the Wild fans have wanted to go back and rebuild a war torn Hyrule since the open-world adventure launched in 2017. They envisioned a bustling Castle Town much bigger and livelier than the one in Ocarina of Time. They were hoping Breath of the Wild DLC would address their desire–but it never happened.

Nintendo did give players a glimpse of what Castle Town looked like before Calamity Ganon destroyed it in one of Breath of the Wild’s memory segments. Players wanted a chance to help bring that version of the location to the game by completing missions similar to the Tarrey Town quests that let you build a settlement on a small part of the map. Players still hope something like this will come with the Breath of the Wild sequel that was announced at E3 2019.

“I’m so glad they decided to add that into the memory. It gave at least a little taste of what pre-calamity Hyrule was like, for those of us that were desperate to see,” said Redditor cacio0. “You can even see some people walking around the street.”

Developer Derek Yu has confirmed that Spelunky 2 will launch on Steam on Tuesday, September 29. You can wishlist the game on the platform right now to be notified when it releases.

This new date comes after the game suffered a delay on PC, missing its planned September 15 launch. Yu said the extra time was to ensure the game “runs well” on PC, as well as to test online multiplayer. Spelunky 2 still drops on September 15 for PlayStation 4.

Splenuky 2 was originally due out toward the end of 2019 but suffered a delay to focus on “density and detail.” Yu went quiet for a few months, only popping back up in March 2020 to confirm that development was going well before announcing the September release date at the beginning of August. He also shared a blog post at the time detailing how much more expansive Spelunky 2 is over its 2012 predecessor.

“Our hope is that all this new content is going to be fun for new players as well as existing Spelunky fans,” Yu said. “Not only is there more to see and do, but there will be more opportunities to find a playstyle that suits you best. And as you do explore the game world and unravel its secrets, you’ll be building a community of characters, old and new, who will support you on your journey and make your adventure feel richer and more interconnected.”

We’ve compiled Spelunky 2’s Steam system requirements below so you can check to see if your rig can handle the game.

Full Spelunky 2 System Requirements

Minimum:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Quad-Core 2.6 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 750
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 600 MB available space
• Additional Notes: Gamepad Recommended

Recommended:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• Network: Broadband Internet connection

Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives players a ton of freedom in how they want to design their islands. They’ve used that freedom to come up with new events and games to play with their friends online. One of the most inventive creations is by Redditor BunnyBoiEthos, who is turning their village into a Mario Party map.

“I love the [Mario Party] series,” BunnyBoiEthos wrote in a Reddit Post. “At first I thought I was gonna model it after some of my fave boards (Shy Guy’s Perplex Express and Grand Canal and a couple others) but then decided to just make it a bunch of smaller boards with themes based on the island!”

BunnyBoiEthos’ island has blue, red, and question mark spaces laid out across the map like a game board. The spaces, along with some of the pathways, are created with custom designs. Nook’s Cranny and the Able Sisters shop are placed as if they were the item shops from Mario Party. It’s still a work in progress, but BunnyBoiEthos wants to try running Mario Party-like games within Animal Crossing soon.

“I have a couple minigame ideas and I get inspiration from people making games on YouTube,” they told GameSpot. “Each area has a couple fruits associated with it and players can get fruit by exchanging bells on fruit spaces (like Mario Party stars) or landing on happening spaces. The first person to collect all 5 fruit would be the winner.”

This Mario Party-themed island has highlighted some gameplay features that didn’t make the jump from Animal Crossing: New Leaf to New Horizons. Players could play games, like hide-and-seek or one where you hit a little robot with a hammer, with their friends on the 3DS game’s tropical island. New Horizons has no minigames, outside events like the fishing tournaments, so people are creating their own.

While New Horizons has a ton of in-game sporting goods, none of them can be used. Players have gone as far to use a player character as a ball in games of soccer. Others have built rulesets for game shows like Deal or No Deal. Other simple minigames, like hide-and-seek, are easy enough to duplicate in game as well.

BunnyBoiEthos practically recreated the board game spin-off Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival in New Horizons with his Mario Party island. They’re excited to decorate with the newly announced Super Mario Bros. furniture that was announced in the Nintendo Direct this week.

Gamespot’s prolific Lucy James joins Joe and Cardy to discuss their experiences with Marvel’s Avengers this week. Also, Nintendo thought it would be a laugh to announce half a dozen Mario games out of nowhere so they delve into everything from revisiting classics to being able to drive mini Mario Karts around your house. There’s also some delightful indie game chat on offer including Spiritfarer and A Short Hike.

There’s a return for The Endless Search along with some delightful feedback and of course, a big helping of Willem Dafoe.

Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: [email protected].

IGN UK Podcast #555: Super Mario Bros. Assemble!

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• IGN UK Podcast #554: BDE – Big Dafoe Energy
• IGN UK Podcast #553: Tenet Time
• IGN UK Podcast #552: Playing Alan Wake 10 Years Late
• IGN UK Podcast #551: An Avenger the Size of a Tangerine
• IGN UK Podcast #550: Simulated Flying, Real Drowning

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Alpha footage from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer appears to have leaked online, revealing a number of details about the mode ahead of its planned reveal on September 9.

The multiplayer footage appears to have been accidentally streamed on Twitch by user DougisRaw for around seven minutes, with a four-minute segment of that stream being captured and circulated online.

There is a lot to glean from the footage of the 6v6 VIP Escort match, which takes place on a new map set in Miami, and follows DougisRaw as they attempt to stop the enemy VIP from reaching an extraction point. Here’s everything we noticed:

• The four starting classes are Stealth Ops, Pointman, Grenadier, Fire Support and Double Agent.
• Weapons have five attachment slots and level-based progression.
• Some weapons shown in the footage include the XM4, the AK-74u, the M16 and the Gallo SA12 Shotgun.
• Every loadout has a Tactical, Lethal and Field Upgrade slot, which is filled by the ‘Field Mic’ equipment in this footage.
• Perks include Tactical Mask, Flak Jacket, Quartermaster, Scavenger, Ninja and Ghost.
• Every loadout has a ‘Wildcards’ slot that lets players modify their loadout. One custom class features a wildcard called ‘Perk Greed’ which appears to let players take two perks per section.
• Another Wildcard called ‘Danger Close’ looks as if it provides double tactical and lethal grenades.
• It looks like multiplayer maps open with a quick cinematic – in this case, the team jumps out of a van.
• Players only have one life each and can be incapacitated and revived in VIP Escort – the match ends when a team wins four rounds.
• Each player has a visual health bar that gets depleted as they’re shot.
• The two factions in this particular mission are known as the CIA and the DGI.
• The round ends with a montage of the ‘Best Play’ of the game.

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In other Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War news, check out this Nvidia RTX On trailer for the game that showcases ray-traced graphics. The release date for the game’s PS4 beta was leaked recently due to the Call of Duty: WW2 in-game storefront.

The full game will launch later this year on November 13 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, with next-gen versions of the game coming at a later date.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A “visually and technically enhanced” next-gen version of The Witcher 3 is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021, and will arrive as a free update for players who own the game on current generation consoles or PC.

CD Projekt Red has revealed that it’s working on the next-generation edition of the game, which has been developed “to take advantage of the most powerful gaming hardware.” The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition will feature ray tracing and faster loading times across the base game and all its expansions on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X.

The Witcher 3 is coming to the next generation!

A visually and technically enhanced version of the game will be available for purchase for PC and next-gen consoles & as a free update for owners of the game on PC, @Xbox One and @PlayStation 4.

More: https://t.co/JclubxpJimpic.twitter.com/gWCJzST3vr

— The Witcher (@witchergame) September 4, 2020

The next-generation edition of the game will be available as a standalone purchase for PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. However, everyone who has purchased the game in physical or digital format on PC, Xbox One, or PlayStation 4 will see a free update to their game, allowing them to upgrade. According to CD Projekt Red PR lead Radek Grabowski, the update is “dedicated only to upgrading the current-gen version of the game when it is being played on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 hardware.”

A precise release date for this new edition of the game has yet to be announced, but Grabowski has confirmed it will arrive in 2021.

In other Witcher news, CD Projekt Red recently revealed a mobile augmented reality game set in the same universe called The Witcher: Monster Slayer. A 12-inch action figure of Geralt of Rivia is also on the way from McFarlane Toys.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Paramount Pictures has announced that a new edit and restoration of The Godfather: Part III will be given a limited theatrical release this December, followed by a home release.

The revised version of Francis Ford Coppola’s final film in The Godfather trilogy, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has been retitled as Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, acknowledging the film’s original title that was rejected by Paramount in favour of a more simplified name. The studio said Thursday that the new cut achieves the original vision that Coppola and screenwriter Mario Puzo had for the last chapter in the Corleone saga.

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“For this version of the finale, I created a new beginning and ending, and rearranged some scenes, shots, and music cues,” Coppola confirmed in a statement. “With these changes and the restored footage and sound, to me, it is a more appropriate conclusion to The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II and I’m thankful to Jim Gianopulos and Paramount for allowing me to revisit it.”

In order to achieve the finest presentation for the upcoming release, Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope and Paramount Pictures’ restoration team spent six months searching through 300 cartons of negatives to pull out over 50 original takes to replace lower resolution opticals in the original negative, before working from a 4K scan to undertake the film’s meticulous frame-by-frame restoration.

“Mr. Coppola oversaw every aspect of the restoration while working on the new edit, ensuring that the film not only looks and sounds pristine, but also meets his personal standards and directorial vision,” Andrea Kalas, the Senior Vice President of Paramount Archives, said about the new edit and restoration of The Godfather: Part III, which also boasts an enhanced audio track.

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The original release of The Godfather: Part III hit theaters 16 years after The Godfather: Part II, and focused on Michael Corleone’s efforts to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire. The film picked up seven Academy Award nominations, though it failed to win any, making it the only film in the trilogy to not pick up an Oscar. Despite being a box office hit, the third installment is generally considered to be the most disappointing film of the epic saga.

Alternative cuts of films have become increasingly popular over the course of history. Just this year, it was announced that Sylvester Stallone is working on a director’s cut of Rocky IV while Zack Snyder’s long-fabled cut of Justice League is set to debut in four, hour-long chunks on HBO Max next year. Snyder’s undertaking has reportedly cost upwards of $30M to produce, even though he’s previously confirmed that there will be no reshoots with the original cast.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.