Author: Trafficblast

Star Wars Squadrons’ latest Pilot Briefing has revealed how players will be able to customize both their starfighters and pilots in this upcoming first-person space dog-fighting game set after Return of the Jedi.

Active and Passive Ship Components

This Pilot Briefing began with focusing on the ship components players can purchase by using the Requisition points they earn while playing Star Wars Squadrons.

These components help change how your starfighter functions in “subtle and radical ways.” Some have passive effects, like “reinforcing their defensive capabilities with different hulls or shields,” while others help dictate what abilities will be available in gameplay.

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There are seven total component slots – Primary Weapons, Auxiliary (x2), Countermeasures, Hull, Shields, and Engines – but ships without shield generators will only have six.

Starfighters can be equipped with up to three passive components and four active components.

The active components are for your Primary weapons, Auxiliary components, and Countermeasures.

The Primary weapons are your main canons, and components can offer many changes like a rate of fire boost for a lower damage output or a long-range cannon that uses burst fire.

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Furthermore, there are ion canons that can be equipped to cut through shields with ease, but don’t do much damage to the ship’s hull beyond that.

Auxiliary components make up two of the seven slots and make up your starfighter’s secondary abilities. Pilots can choose to add such items as a repair astromech, tractor beam, or a variety of torpedoes, bombs, and mines. It’s important to know you can’t choose two of the same Auxiliary components at once.

Countermeasures help you survive when you need to disengage from intense fights. These components include seeker warheads that fire behind your ship and take out incoming missiles and a sensor jammer that will prevent another starfighter from locking on to yours.

The passive components offer an improvement of either your engines, hull, and shields at the cost of one of the ones you don’t choose. A default loadout will be very well balanced, without a major strength or weakness, but these components can help you make a starfighter for the role you want to play.

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Cosmetic Customization for Pilots and Starfighters

Whether you are playing as an Imperial of New Republic pilot, you can choose to customize each class you may be playing. These appearances will be used in both story mode and multiplayer.

Most cosmetics are unlocked via Glory points that are earned while playing, and include different heads, voice styles, full-body flight suits, torso apparel, legwear, helmets, and gloves.

Starfighters can also be customized, and give pilots the chance to “represent one of the classic iconic X-wing squadrons like Red Squadron, stay true to the noble values of Vanguard Squadron, or rep an entirely different paint job.” While the Imperial pilots sport a more uniform look, there are still some “special customization options for Titan Squadron’s starfighters that remain true to the Empire’s aesthetic.”

Your cockpit can also be changed to your liking, and you can “add small knick-knacks on your dashboard, like a hologram of the galaxy, or hang a small Stormtrooper helmet from above.” When you defeat an enemy, they will be able to see your crafted cockpit via the kill cam.

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The single-player story will feature traditional cockpits, but multiplayer allows for some creative liberties and gives pilots many more options to personalize their starfighters.

“The holo-display, normally used to provide critical phase and objective information throughout the Fleet Battles doubles as a customizable image projector,” Lead gameplay designer James Clements explained. “There are also hanging flairs like a miniature Millennium Falcon and dashboard-mounted objects like a severed protocol droid head or an Ewok bobblehead. Then of course there are the ship exterior paint jobs and pilot avatar customizations, all made through the culmination of months of concept art, modeling, and collaboration with the team at Lucasfilm.”

If it’s too hard for you to decide which cosmetics you’d like for each ship, you can rest easy knowing you can unlock five loadout slots to create the perfect options for you.

For more on Star Wars Squadrons, which will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 2, 2020, check out our hands-on preview and read all about the last Pilot Briefing that focused on starfighter differences and special abilities.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Apple has confirmed that it has removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store following Epic Games’ alteration of the price of Fortnite V-Bucks and a new direct payment system in response to Apple and Google’s “exorbitant” app store fees. Epic has responded by filing a complaint for injunctive relief against Apple.

In a statement to The Verge, Apple confirmed that “As a result [of Epic’s update to the game,] their Fortnite app has been removed from the store.”

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“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users,” Apple’s larger statement reads. “As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.”

Apple goes on to cite Epic’s agreement to the App Store rules in the first place, which allowed Fortnite to exist previously on the app store, noting that “The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users.”

The company explains that it “will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store,” but it remains unclear how long this ban from the store may last at this time.

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Epic Sues Apple Over App Store Policies

Epic has responded to this move by filing a legal complaint in California, stating that “Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation.”

“Rather than tolerate this healthy competition and compete on the merits of its offering, Apple responded by removing Fortnite from sale on the App Store, which means that new users cannot download the app, and users who have already downloaded prior versions of the app from the App Store cannot update it to the latest version,” Epic’s legal complaint reads. “This also means that Fortnite players who downloaded their app from the App Store will not receive updates to Fortnite through the App Store, either automatically or by searching the App Store for the update. Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market.

“Apple imposes unreasonable and unlawful restraints to completely monopolize both markets,” the complaint goes on to read, taking issue with the “30% tax” both apps and in-app purchases come with, and the company believes Apple’s behavior has “anti-competitive consequences” on the industry.

Update: IGN has reached out to Epic for additional comment and will update this story should they respond. Epic debuted an in-game event, a new short film titled “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite,” which was a direct parody of Apple’s famous 1984 commercial, an ad Epic cites in its suit against Apple.

In the video, text reads “Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices. Join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming ‘1984,’” along with the hashtag #FreeFortnite. Epic has elaborated on its #FreeFortnite campaign, urging fans affected by these recent moves to petition Apple on social media to reinstate Fortnite.

How Fortnite’s Removal Affects iOS Players

Epic has explained that players who already had Fortnite downloaded on iOS devices will be able to continue playing, but the app cannot be updated further. So once Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4 begins, which could be potentially as early as Aug. 28, iOS players will not be able to play Fortnite in the new season’s content or Battle Pass unless this matter is resolved before then.

And for those asking for refunds for purchases made through the iOS version, Epic’s FAQ explains that those refunds must be requested through Apple, not Epic, due to the nature of in-app purchases. As for why Epic does not want to agree to Apple’s terms any longer, the company said “Epic believes that you have a right to save money thanks to using more efficient, new purchase options. Apple’s rules add a 30% tax on all of your purchases, and they punish game developers like us who offer direct payment options.”

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Before Apple’s announcement, Epic confirmed a change to the cost of V-Bucks, changing the price of 1,000 V-Bucks from $9.99 to $7.99 on consoles, Mac, and PC. Mobile works somewhat differently, as players can still buy using Apple or Google accounts at the higher price, but will now offer ‘Epic direct payment’ when purchasing V-Bucks on mobile devices to save the 20%. Epic noted that this was done to “pass along the savings to players,” citing the “exorbitant 30% fee” Apple and Google collect on every V-Buck payment. In the future, Epic is open to altering the deal “if Apple and Google lower their fees on payments.”

Epic is not the only gaming company to recently come into a public disagreement with Apple and its App Store policies. Apple’s recent decision to block the Xbox Game Pass app from iOS drew ire from Microsoft, which said “Apple stands alone as the only general purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. And it consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content.”

And Apple also recently decided to restrict the Facebook Gaming app’s functionality on iOS, with Facebook explaining how “months of submissions and repeated rejections by Apple” led them to “remove instant games entirely from the standalone app.”[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Russell Kirsch, the inventor of the pixel, has died.

Kirsch died Aug. 11 at his home in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 91. Best known as the inventor of the digital pixel, Kirsch was a computer scientist also credited with scanning one of the first digital photographs into a computer, per Oregon Live. He was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1929, and completed his primary education at the Bronx High School of Science. He then went on to study at New York University, Harvard, and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kirsch created a small digital image of his son, Walden, as a baby in 1957 and scanned it into a computer using a machine he and his team of researchers created. This digital image would make history as it is one of the first images scanned into a computer. Life magazine called it one of 100 photographs that changed the world. The original image is on display in the Portland Art Museum digital collection.

It was he and his team’s belief that computers would one day come to mirror that of the human mind, and although the world isn’t quite there yet, it grows closer to Kirsch’s vision every day.

Kirsch worked for over 50 years as a scientist for what is now known as the National Institute of Science and Technology in Maryland. It was known as the U.S. National Bureau of Standards when he worked there. Kirsch left Maryland in 2001 and moved to Portland. He had dementia in his later years.

Kirsch is survived by his wife Joan Kirsch, whom he had been with for 65 years, and his sons Walden and Peter and his daughters Lindsey and Kara.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Today the newest generation Alienware Aurora gaming PC equipped with RTX 2080 graphics has reached a new price low thanks to a new 10% off Dell coupon. The best Alienware laptop deal has also been extended for a few more days. If you’re looking for other options, there are also solid deals on Lenovo, ASUS, HP, and Gigabyte PCs from Newegg, Amazon, and Best Buy.

Deals for August 13

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More Video Game Deals

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.

Here’s a good deal for fans of the Caped Crusader. The massive, deeply researched book Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond is 37% off at Amazon. That brings the price from $75 all the way down to $47.49. There’s no telling how long the deal will last, so grab it if you want it.

Batman: The Definitive History, if I may abridge the title, is a 400-page full-color doorstopper of a book that that traces the history of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego from his debut in Detective Comics in 1939 all the way to the present.

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Written by Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago and media reporter Gina McIntyre, this hefty tome (it weighs seven pounds) dives into pretty much everything you’d want to know about Batman through the years.

It includes interviews with people like Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Tim Burton, Mark Hamill, and Christopher Nolan. It illuminates behind-the-scenes stories surrounding major moments from the comics. It goes into the live-action Batman TV show from the 1960s, as well as Batman: The Animated Series, the Nolan films, and even the Arkham video games.

In addition to its credentialed authors, the book features a forward by Michael Keaton, an introduction by Kevin Conroy, and a preface by longtime Batman editor Dennis O’Neil.

Also included in the book are previously unpublished photographs from Batman film sets, animation cels, and comic book art, plus a 40-page film treatment from Bob Kane.

Basically, it’s a whole lot of information about Batman over the 80 years he’s been a pop cultural icon. And it’s displayed beautifully in a full-color, gorgeously illustrated book. It would make a great present for the Batman fan in your life, even if that fan happens to be you.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Remedy Entertainment’s Control was one of our favorite games of 2019. If its world captivated you as well, there’s a new companion book on the horizon that dives into the creation of the game. The limited-edition version of The Art and Making of Control is available to pre-order now at Amazon for $60, and we expect a standard (cheaper) edition will pop up soon, too.

It’s unclear exactly when the book will launch, but it’s expected to arrive this holiday. The hardcover coffee table book comes in at 384 pages and will be published by Future Press. While we can’t tell exactly what extras come with the book’s limited edition, it’s safe to assume that the sleek slipcase and multiple inserts with supplemental material are two of the bonuses.

The book will also cover the pair of expansions, The Foundation and AWE, the latter of which launches August 27. Remedy recently announced an Ultimate edition of Control that comes with both expansions will launch September 10, and it’ll be the only way to get a free upgrade to the next-gen versions of Control.

It’s extremely common for art books to receive discounts ahead of their publication dates, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see the limited edition and the inevitable standard edition get marked down before release. If you order now, you’ll get the lowest price offered until release thanks to Amazon’s pre-order price guarantee.

With the announcement of Halo Infinite’s delay to 2021 earlier this week came reassurance that the Xbox Series X console is still set for a holiday, specifically November, global launch. And Xbox head Phil Spencer has elaborated on the tough call to delay the flagship Xbox game, and why the company didn’t consider a staggered release for it.

Speaking on Gary Whitta’s Animal Crossing talk show Animal Talking, Spencer explained that while he and his team had some potential options on the table when it came to the delay, he wanted to make the decision that would have “the best intent, in the long-run, for our fans and our platform.”

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“We made the decision late last week. And I say ‘we’ — Bonnie Ross, who runs 343, Matt Booty, who runs our first-party studios organization, and myself. And they came with some options, things that we could do, maybe parts of the game that we could ship on given dates. It just didn’t feel, to all of us, like the Halo release that we would want. So in the end, I make the call based on the information that they present. I make a call, like I said, with hopefully the best intent, in the long-run, for our fans and our platform.”

And so while Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is still set to be free-to-play, Spencer and his team rejected the idea of releasing it and the other portions of Infinite at separate points, but Spencer believed this was the right call for fans, Xbox, the developers, and the Halo franchise.

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“So when looking at where we were, and the trajectory the team was on and frankly just the amount of effort and emotion that 343 [Industries] is putting into the game, and making sure that we want to be able to get the game out and delivered and have a healthy team after that, this was the decision that we made. And I’ll apologize to the fans, because I never like to set up expectations and not hit them, but I also believe that we’re making the right decision in the long run for both Xbox, and Halo, and our customers,” he said.

Spencer elaborated that the final decision to the posting of the news was about a 24-hour turnaround, noting that in part the urgency comes from how many factors go into the launch of such a major franchise’s new entry — not just for Xbox, but for its many partners, as well.

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“One of the things that pushed us is, when you’re shipping a game like Halo, it’s not just a solo release – we have a lot of marketing partners and promotions that are out there, and you want to be respectful of your partners in giving them a heads-up so that they can plan their timelines for things that they’re doing in conjunction with the launch of the game, which is part of the input as well,” he said. “But in reality, when we know we know – let’s make the decision, let’s put it out so we’re talking to our fans, and be as transparent as we can be.”

As for how this impacts the wider Xbox Series X launch, Spencer noted that the company is really investing in the value that Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Series X offer together for players.

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“Our investment in Game Pass and that portfolio continues to be strong. We’ve got some more good announcements, really great, strong announcements to come about things that will be coming to Game Pass,” he said. “I think what you’ll see from us around the launch of the console, frankly, isn’t going to change too much because you were going to hear a lot about the console and a lot about Game Pass and how we think those two things together are a real great value proposition for gamers going into the next generation.”

You can check out the full interview with Spencer on the latest episode of Animal Talking, which also features Lisa Loeb and Dylan Sprouse.

For more on IGN’s coverage of the Halo delay, be sure to read the op-ed by IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey about why Halo Infinite’s delay was the tough but right call, and check out the latest from our weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked.

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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and is continually impressed by the guest lineup for every episode of Animal Talking. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The 1997 version of Final Fantasy VII, which was first exclusive to the PlayStation before being ported to a myriad of other consoles, is now available on Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC subscribers.

Anyone who subscribes to Xbox Game Pass–whether it’s the console-specific tier, the PC-specific tier (for Windows 10 PCs), or the all-encompassing Ultimate tier–can add the classic JRPG to their backlog. The game can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.

There are some new features that come with this Xbox Game Pass version, including a 3x speed mode, the ability to turn battle encounters off, and a battle enhancement mode. These extra features, while not exclusive to PC or Xbox One, are added for free.

With it coming to Windows 10 PCs, Microsoft has outlined the PC requirements to achieve the best possible results. You can check them out below to see if your rig can handle Final Fantasy VII.

Full Final Fantasy VII PC System Requirements

Minimum

• OS: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher
• Architecture: x64
• Keyboard: Integrated Keyboard
• DirectX: Version 11
• Memory: 2 GB
• Video Memory: 2 GB
• Processor: AMD A-Series 2.2GHz / Intel Core i3 2.2GHz
• Graphics: AMD Radeon R7 240 / Nvidia GeForce GT 730
• Notes: AMD A8-Series 3.1GHz / Intel Core i5 2.8GHz.; AMD Radeon R9 370 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 660

Recommended

• OS: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher
• Architecture: x64
• Keyboard: Not specified
• DirectX: Version 11
• Memory: 4 GB
• Video Memory: 4 GB
• Processor: AMD A8-Series 3.1GHz / Intel Core i5 2.8GHz
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 470 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 960
• Notes: Not specified

Final Fantasy VII isn’t the only Xbox Game Pass addition this month. Alongside FFVII is The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, Darksiders Genesis, UnderMine, Trailmakers, and It Lurks Below. Final Fantasy VII joins an assortment of other FF titles available through Game Pass, including Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XV, as well as Kingdom Hearts Collector’s Pack: HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts 3.

In other Final Fantasy VII news, FFVII Remake is discounted on the PlayStation Store through August 19.