Pokemon Go Dev Will Fix Mega Evolutions

Mega Evolutions recently arrived in Pokemon Go, but many players have not been entirely happy with their implementation thus far. In order to Mega Evolve a Pokemon, users must first collect that monster’s Mega Energy. This, however, is typically locked behind Mega Raid Battles, making it difficult for many players to collect the required amount. Developer Niantic has acknowledged these concerns and promises to address them.

In a post on Pokemon subreddit The Silph Road, a Niantic representative wrote that the studio is keeping a close eye on players’ feedback regarding Mega Evolutions and is looking into ways to make the feature more accessible. In particular, the rep noted the studio has heard players “loud and clear” that they want additional ways to harvest Mega Energy outside of Raids, and that the current requirement feels too steep and not worthwhile.

“[P]lease know that we’re discussing how we can address these concerns, though we’re in the very early stages and it might be some time before you see changes implemented in-game,” the representative wrote. “We do have some changes in the pipeline already, but again we don’t have a set schedule just yet.”

Niantic did not go into further details about how it plans to tweak Mega Evolutions, but the studio asks players to continue sharing their feedback. Although Mega Energy is typically only earned through Mega Raids, this month’s Mega September event will feature limited-time Research tasks that reward players with Mega Energy, offering another way to harvest the resource.

To make it a bit easier to participate in Mega Raids, Niantic is also offering a cheap Remote Raid Pass bundle this month in Pokemon Go’s in-game shop. Meanwhile, the studio has a ton of other events lined up for the game over the next few weeks, including a new Victini Special Research line and a Go Battle Night. This month will also see a handful of different Legendary Pokemon like Cresselia and Articuno return to five-star Raids for a limited time.

Now Playing: The Most Disturbing Pokemon In The Pokedex

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Fortnite: Where To Ride A Motorboat Under Different Colored Steel Bridges (Week 2)

Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 4 isn’t all Marvel-themed. Sometimes you have to keep it simple and find some bridges to drive under. This weekly challenge tasks you with riding a motorboat under different colored steel bridges. This guide will show you the location of three different colored bridges and how to best drive under them.

This challenge leaked early so check back on Thursday to try it yourself in Fortnite.

Where Are The Colored Steel Bridges?

There are all sorts of bridges spread out across the Season 4 map–some wood, some concrete, and some steel. Here are the locations of three steel bridges with different colors:

Fortnite Season 4 Steel Bridges
Fortnite Season 4 Steel Bridges

It’s best to land near Misty Meadows or Lazy Lake, grab some loot, and then hop in a boat near the water there. There are many you can grab so that shouldn’t be a problem. Hit the first bridge which is located near Catty Corner. It’s bright color is hard to miss.

Fortnite Catty Corner Steel Bridge
Fortnite Catty Corner Steel Bridge

Then move south to the next bridge just outside Frenzy Farm. Drive under this bridge and then turn around and head to the upper right corner of the map for the final bridge. Follow the river and you should be there in no time.

Fortnite Frenzy Farm Bridge

The last bridge is to the right of Doom’s Domain. Ride the boat under that one to complete the challenge.

Fortnite Doom's Domain Bridge

What Will I Get For Driving Under Steel Bridges?

You’ll get another chunk of experience points to help you level up your battle pass. Check out our hub of Season 4 challenges if you’re curious to what you’ll unlock in the coming weeks.

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Madden NFL 21 Patch Notes For September Update

The third title update for Madden NFL 21 is on the way. Ahead of its targeted release on September 10, Electronic Arts detailed the update on its official site. It’s set to fix a number of gameplay issues, improve navigation in Madden Ultimate Team, and improve the football game’s logic.

Madden NFL 21’s third title update will fix several defensive coverage issues, such as defenders in press-alignment not being able to backpedal properly. Tackle animations not triggering against juke moves will also be fixed, and so is an issue that caused receivers to warp into a tackle during a possession catch.

Madden Ultimate Team is also seeing a number of tweaks that mostly improve the speed of navigating menus. Players will be able to upgrade players quicker thanks to an improved user interface. An issue where roles didn’t work properly in MUT Squads is also being addressed.

Additionally, the update seeks to improve Madden 21’s artificial intelligence in several areas. This includes ensuring that only players with the strip specialist ability will cause fumbles with normal sacks on quarterbacks standing in the pocket in competitive play. Other changes include Cover 4 Quarters handling play action better, supporting QB Contain against play-action passes, and making it so that a quarterback won’t be able to throw the ball if his arm gets hit.

As noted in GameSpot’s Madden NFL 21 review, the franchise mode lacks any noticeable improvements this year. EA will attempt to address this by releasing three updates to the mode. The first won’t arrive with the upcoming patch, but EA says it will detail what improvements to expect from it prior to the NFL season starting. The only change in this patch is allowing X-Factor abilities to be tuned for players that start a franchise with an active roster.

Madden NFL 21 September Update Patch Notes

Gameplay Updates:

  • Pass Rush
    • Fix to an issue preventing defenders in contain from staying in contain when being blocked by a running back in the backfield. The rusher will keep their contain behavior when blocked by any blocker on the line or in the backfield
  • Fix to an issue causing the initial pass-rush move of contain players to take them to the inside gap instead of their assigned outside gap.
  • Addition of logic to support QB Contain vs. play-action passing plays
  • Fix to ‘On-Field Trainer’ issues related to pass rush
  • Addition of logic so that defenders without the Strip Specialist Ability will no longer cause fumbles on QBs standing in the Pocket with Normal Sack animations on Competitive game-style only. Only defenders with the Strip Specialist ability will be able to force a fumble on a QB standing in the Pocket on Competitive.
  • Defensive Coverage
    • Fix to an issue when using motion in a Twins/Slot formation vs. Nickel/Dime/Dollar defenses, defenders inappropriately swap assignments, leaving the receiver uncovered
    • Addition of logic to Cover 4 Quarters to better handle plays like PA Crossers
    • Fix to an issue preventing defenders in press-alignment from backpedaling appropriately
    • Fix to an alignment issue when flipping Nickel 2-4-5 SS Reno Zone
  • Tackling
    • Fix to some tackling issues sometimes preventing tackle animations from triggering vs. Juke and Jurdle moves
    • Fix to an issue causing a receiver to warp up off the ground into a tackle during a possession catch
    • Fix to an issue causing the QB to not react after throwing an INT while being hit by a defender
    • Fix to an issue allowing ball carriers to fake-out defenders behind them when using the Spin Move
  • Throw Out of Sack
    • Addition of new logic for when a defender is hitting a QB on his throwing arm the QB will no longer be able to throw the ball. The QB will be forced to tuck the ball or the ball will be fumbled
    • Increase to the fumble chance for QBs throwing out of a sack that are hit significantly before they have started their forward arm movement. The greater the Defender’s Tackle vs Quarterback’s Strength rating discrepancy is in favor of the defender, the higher the fumble chance
    • Fix to a throw out of Sack animation where the ball was not getting released by the Quarterback
      • DEV NOTE: Our goal with the Throw Out Of Sack Improvements was to provide more balance to this new feature that has a significant impact on Gameplay. There is more risk to trying to throw the ball every time a defender is close to the passer. Now it is upon the user to make sure they have started the pass in time or else a defender will be able to force a fumble when they are hit before the arm has started going forward. We have also ensured that when you do start the pass in time, you get the ball off appropriately with the correct distance and accuracy
  • Blocking
    • Fix to an issue preventing the left tackle from blocking the correct defender when running HB Zone Weak plays against Nickel 3-3-5
    • Fix to an issue with graphical distortion occasionally being displayed over blocker-resistance bars
  • General Fixes
    • Tuning to RAC-catch win-chances to reduce frequency of low-rated coverage defenders getting catch-knockouts vs. higher-rated receivers
    • Fix to an issue where Hitting RT/R2 + A/X at the snap would sometimes result in the Quarterback instantly throwing to the A/X Receiver
    • Tuning to give user control a little sooner after an interception
    • Fix to an issue causing Quarterbacks to use drastic turns on subtle movements
    • Fix to the run-speed for ball carriers on Triple Option and Speed Option, allowing sprint speed earlier
    • Tuning some celebration animation issues to clean up some minor hitching
    • Tuning to QB’s front elbow when inside the pocket to improve visual quality

Madden Ultimate Team Updates:

  • Improvements to the speed in the menus of Madden Ultimate Team and returning from game modes
  • Improvements the speed when interacting with your players and items including upgrades
  • Address an issue where items in the lineup screen would initially show as 50/50
  • Numerous miscellaneous improvements to MUT Menu UI
  • Fix to an issue in MUT Squads where roles were not properly respected

Superstar KO Updates:

  • Fix to an issue in Superstar KO where roles were not properly respected

Face of the Franchise Updates:

  • General stability improvements
  • Fix to an issue with users selecting “Let Fate Decide” option when getting drafted
  • Fix to an issue with the user’s difficulty setting reverting to Rookie after every game

Franchise Updates:

  • Tuning X-Factor abilities for users who select the “Active Roster” option when starting a new Franchise save.
  • The next franchise update blog will be released around the start of the NFL season and will outline current plans and target timing for the first of three planned franchise mode updates for Madden NFL 21

The Yard Updates:

  • Addition of “Frienderboards” to The Yard
    • These are leaderboards populated by your friends list that will display the Highest Score per event
  • Addition of a pop-up to remind those playing VS CPU events that they need a full group to play
  • When a user is offensive captain, control will now default to the QB even if their CAP is in another position group
  • Fix to an issue where location icons may not appear
  • Fix to an issue where full list of house rules may not appear
  • Fix to an issue where users may erroneously see “Finding Teammates” after leaving a session
  • Fix to an issue where Coach Cam always showed a CAP as being QB #12.
  • Fix to the pass leading for the Slot receiver’s Drag Wheel Route in Crossfire
  • Fix to a minor camera issue where the view was blocked by objects
  • Fix to an issue allowing an extra play after a fumble that went out of bounds on the last play of the game
  • Fix to an ‘On-Field Trainer’ issue displaying “Flick” above the ball carrier after catching a pass
  • Online stability improvements
  • General menu and interface improvements

Now Playing: Madden NFL 21 Video Review

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Fortnite Sentinel Graveyard Guide: How To Dance On Different Sentinel Heads (Week 2)

Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 4’s Week 2 challenges are coming later this week. One challenge will send you to a specific Marvel location. It asks you to dance on top of different Sentinel Heads at the Sentinel Graveyard. This guide will show you how to find the Sentinel Graveyard and get the challenge done quickly.

This challenge leaked early; check back on Thursday to see it live within Fortnite.

Where Is The Sentinel Graveyard?

The Sentinel Graveyard is located in the E6 tile on the map near Lazy Lake and Misty Meadows. It has multiple giant robots laying around in a clearing. It’s easy to land directly there and loot the houses and camps nearby, but there won’t be enough for multiple players if you run into someone looking for a fight. Some players, however, will be trying to complete the challenge like you. Be friendly if possible. Check out the map below for an exact location:

Fortnite Season 4 Sentinel Graveyard Location
Fortnite Season 4 Sentinel Graveyard Location

How Do I Dance On The Top of Sentinel Heads?

This challenge is fairly simple. All you need to do is perform a dance emote on top of multiple robot heads. They are easy to get on top of by using the glowing pads on the robot hands. Here’s an example:

Fortnite Season 4 Sentinel Hand
Fortnite Season 4 Sentinel Hand

Dance on the top of three heads and the challenge will be completed. You don’t need to dance on three in one match; you can dance on one if you need to get to safety after landing. Be sure to complete the challenge before the end of Season 4, though.

Fortnite Season 4 Dancing On Top Of Sentinel Head

What Will I Get For Dancing On Top of Sentinel Heads?

You’ll get 25,000 experience points to help you level up your battle pass and unlock Iron Man, Mystique, and other heroes in the coming weeks.

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Nvidia’s RTX 3070 And 3080 Pricing Is Downright Surprising

After weeks of rumors and leaks, Nvidia finally revealed three new GPUs in its RTX 30 series, all sporting the new Ampere architecture underneath. If there’s one thing speculation before the event drove home, it was that these cards were going to be expensive. And while that’s certainly true for the flagship, Nvidia uncharacteristically got very aggressive with the pricing for the two cards most people will likely buy.

Nvidia revealed the RTX 3070, the RTX 3080, and the RTX 3090 during its GeForce Special Event, which Nvidia billed as the biggest generational leap forward in the last 20 years of GPUs. On paper, those claims seem sound. The RTX 3070 was described as faster than Turing’s flagship card, the RTX 2080 Ti, while the RTX 3080 boasts twice the performance of the RTX 2080. The RTX 3090, this generation’s Titan card, is in a league of its own–and with a price point of $1500, it’s not for even most enthusiast PC builds.

The pricing on both the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 came as a bit of a shock though. The least powerful card in Nvidia’s new range boasts better performance that its previous flagship while also costing less than half. Today, a RTX 2080 Ti can still run just over $1000 (not far off what it launched at), while the RTX 3070 launches at just $500 in October.

The RTX 3080 then strikes a good balance between appreciable performance gains while also being reasonably priced compared to the previous generation. The RTX 2080 Super–Nvidia’s mid-generation refresh for the RTX 2080–launched at $700. While Nvidia says the RTX 3080 is twice as fast as the original RTX 2080, it’s priced at the same $700 as its Super variant. That makes it a much sounder purchasing decision, eliminating the RTX 2080 Super’s position in the market without a considerable price cut.

Pricing like this certainly aims at next-generation consoles, too, despite Microsoft and Sony still holding out on specifics for the Xbox Series X and PS5 respectively. While even the RTX 3070 alone might be in the region of a full next-gen console from a price perspective, Nvidia made a compelling case to consider PC. As Digital Foundry’s Alexander Battaglia picked up, Nvidia used Microsoft’s standard of reporting teraflops to paint a clear picture between the Xbox Series X and both its Turning and new Ampere architecture.

While not naming cards specifically, Turing has an expected peak of 34 TFlops performance, while Ampere boasts 58 TFlops. Compared to the Xbox Series X’s 13 TFlops–a figure higher than the PS5 already–it’s a massive leap ahead on metrics alone. It must be stressed that even $500 is still a lot of money for a GPU, especially during this year where the COVID-19 pandemic has stressed many people financially. But within the context of next-generation consoles arriving later this year, it’s a comparison that Nvidia is sensibly making.

AMD, the manufacturer behind the RDNA 2-powered Xbox Series X and PS5, has yet to unveil its own consumer GPUs using its latest architecture. Considering what might be in the pipeline, Nvidia’s aggressive approach might be in anticipation of a performance and market-share fight that the company hasn’t had to pay too much attention too over the past couple of years.

All these figures and estimations need to be tested of course, which will happen as early as September 17 when Nvidia launches the RTX 3080. The monstrous RTX 3090 is expected this September too, while the RTX 3070 launches in October.

Nvidia RTX 3000 Series Pre-Order Notifications Available Now

Nvidia has revealed the latest in its graphics card technology, the RTX 3000 series. Each card in this series is more powerful than the company’s current flagship GPU, the RTX 2080 Ti, making this year’s line of cards particularly enticing. Pre-orders for the RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070 aren’t available yet, but you can sign-up for notifications. This will ensure you’re one of the first people to know when pre-orders go live.

All you have to do is head over to Nvidia and click the “Notify Me” button, select which RTX 3000 series products you’re interested in, and put in your email and age. Click “Submit,” and then you’re good to go. You’ll get an email when pre-orders become available, though you’ll want to act fast because whenever Nvidia releases a new graphics card, it always sells out quickly.

The RTX 3090 releases September 24 for $1,500. It boasts 24GB of GDDR6X memory, and Nvidia claims it’s capable of 8K and 60 FPS. On the other hand, the RTX 3080 launches September 17 for $700, while the RTX 3070 is $500 and set for an unspecified October release.

As for the RTX 3000 series’ more in-depth technical specs, check out our Nvidia RTX 3000 series breakdown. We go over everything Nvidia has revealed so far, including the new Ampere architecture, number of teraflops, and more.

Dungeons & Dragons Becoming a Magic: The Gathering Set Next Year

Magic: The Gathering will get a new set based on Dungeons & Dragons during Q3 2021, titled Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.

Announced during Magic’s Zendikar Adventuring Party livestream, the set will be fully standard-legal and black-bordered, meaning the set can interact with other mainline Magic sets. Check out the logo below:

Screenshot (207)No other details have been offered, other than to say neither Magic or D&D players will want to miss what’s coming, and that D&D is coming to Magic’s multiverse (although it’s not clear how extensive that crossover will be).

It was far from the only new set announced today. Magic’s Q1 2021 set will be Kaldheim, a Viking-themed set, Q2 brings Strixhaven, based in a Wizard university (essentially it sounds like Magic-but-Hogwarts), and Q4 will bring two new, full-sized Innistrad sets, one centred on werewolves and the other on vampires (with a tease of a “vampire wedding” being involved).

We also saw a Walker token based on The Walking Dead, which will be coming to Magic’s limited edition Secret Lair store in future:

Screenshot (209)

Finally, we also received word that Magic: The Gathering Arena will be coming to mobile “soon” – although no other specifics were given.

If you want more Magic, check back with IGN tomorrow, when we’ll be exclusively revealing new cards from the Zendikar Rising set arriving this month.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Magic The Gathering: Check Out 18 New Cards From Zendikar Rising Set

Magic The Gathering: Check Out 18 New Cards From Zendikar Rising Set – GameSpot

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Magic The Gathering Reveals 2021 Sets And A Walking Dead Card

While Magic: The Gathering’s next set–Zendikar Rising–will be hitting stores on September 25 and on MTG Arena on September 17, Wizards of the Coast has revealed the names of three upcoming Magic sets. However, you won’t be able to get your hands on these sets for a while, since most of these have release dates set for 2021.

The Zendikar Rising reveal showcased a bunch of new cards for the set, which you can check out here. Wizards of the Coast outlined the sets for the upcoming year, which includes more crossover with D&D and another set focusing on werewolves and vampires.

MTG's 2021 timeline
MTG’s 2021 timeline

Upcoming 2021 Magic sets:

  • Strixhaven – The most elite university in the Multiverse – Spring 2021
  • Adventures in the Forgotten Realms – Dungeons & Dragons comes to Magic – Summer 2021
  • Innistrad (two unnamed sets) – Werewolves and Vampires are back – Fall 2021
  • Kaldheim – Magic’s Viking world – Winter 2021
  • Time Spiral Remastered – Recapture of the fan-favorite block
  • Modern Horizons 2 – A follow-up to the popular Modern Horizons set

While all these sets are months away from hitting stores, MTG did have an early look at a few of the Time Spiral Remastered cards that will be available soon, which you can check out below.

Time Spiral Remastered cards
Time Spiral Remastered cards
Gallery image 1Gallery image 2

Finally, there are two new Secret Lair Drops happening in the near future, and it features some well-known zombies. Secret Lair: Yargle will feature a collaboration with AMC’s The Walking Dead.

No Caption Provided

Not much else was revealed about the next Secret Lair drop, but you can learn more from @MTGSecretLair on Twitter in the future.

Biden Campaign Releases Animal Crossing Digital Yard Signs

Heading into election season, we’re bound to see some interesting campaign tactics. According to The Verge, Joe Biden is making his appeal to gaming constituents in Animal Crossing: New Horizons by giving them official Biden yard signs. It is part of the Biden campaign’s “broader initiative to organize voters online this fall.”

The Biden campaign yard signs are available September 1 and come in four different designs. One features the official Biden-Harris logo, while another has a set of aviators in red, white, and blue. You can get them by scanning the QR codes through Nintendo Switch Online app.

No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided

Christian Tom, director of digital partnerships for the Biden campaign, commented, “Animal Crossing is a dynamic, diverse, and powerful platform that brings communities together from across the world. It is an exciting new opportunity for our campaign to engage and connect Biden-Harris supporters as they build and decorate their islands. As we enter the final campaign stretch towards November, this is one way we are finding new creative and innovative ways to meet voters where they are and bring our supporters together.”

Biden’s campaign has released “digital merch” previously. Included were coloring book pages that can be printed, phone wallpapers, and an array of Zoom backgrounds.

There is also apparently more to come, potentially on the Animal Crossing platform. Tom revealed, “This is just the start of how we plan to engage players ahead of November as we’re already looking forward to rolling out more digital swag, voter education tools, and organizing efforts on Animal Crossing and other platforms.”

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