Author: Trafficblast

At long last, there’s been a major development in the creation of Showtime’s upcoming TV adaptation of the Halo video game franchise. We still don’t know when it will premiere, but we are finally ready to meet Master Chief.

The mysterious masked figure, who is at the center of the video game franchise, has been cast by the network. According to Entertainment Weekly, Orange is the New Black and American Gods alum Pablo Schreiber will fill the role. A character description reads, “Earth’s most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity.”

What remains to be seen is whether fans will ever actually see Schreiber’s face. In the games, Chief’s identity remains a mystery. While you might assume that would change for the series, Showtime president of programming Gary Levine previously said whether Chief would unmask “is a key question and an important part of our series.”

Schreiber isn’t the only new cast, though. EW reports newcomer Yerin Ha had also been added to the show as Quan Ah, “a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both.”

Halo is expected to begin production this fall in Budapest, with Kyle Killen and Steven Kane serving as co-showrunners. Black Mirror alum Otto Bathurst has signed on to direct and produce the series. Showtime describes its take on Halo as “weaving deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.”

Disclosure: Showtime is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation. CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

The historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught flame Monday evening, collapsing its spire and severely damaging parts of the building including its roof. Now as the government looks toward restoration, it may tap an unexpected source: Assassin’s Creed Unity.

CBS News reports that restorers may need to utilize the expertise of a Vassar College architecture historian and the artist team for Ubisoft’s 2014 video game. The detailed models could help provide a functional understanding of the building’s measurements and specifications that isn’t possible with still photographs.

Unity is set during the French Revolution, and was noted for its accurate rendering of 1700s Paris. The Verge reports that level artist Caroline Miousse spent roughly two years modeling Notre Dame Cathedral, saying about 80% of her work on the game was that landmark alone.

Notre Dame is a cathedral that has undergone multiple expansions and restorations over the centuries, and Miousse’s recreation is modeled as closely as possible to the structure as it was at the time–at least, for the most part. The team found that playtesters missed the spires, so Miousse added them to the cathedral despite the fact that they weren’t actually added until later.

For its part, Ubisoft said on Twitter it is not currently involved in any reconstruction efforts, but is “more than happy to lend our expertise in any way we can.” The company is helping out in another way, however. It has committed more than $500,000 to reconstruction efforts, and made Assassin’s Creed Unity free for a limited time in honor of the cathedral.

“Video games can enable us to explore places in ways we never could have otherwise imagined,” the company said. “We hope, with this small gesture, we can provide everyone an opportunity to appreciate our virtual homage to this monumental piece of architecture.”

Pokemon Go‘s April Community Day may have only recently ended, but Niantic is already looking ahead to next month’s event. The developer has now shared the first details for May’s Community Day, which is scheduled to take place around the globe on Sunday, May 19.

As usual, next month’s Community Day will run for three hours, from 3-6 PM local time. During that window, players will be able to earn triple the usual amount of Stardust for every Pokemon they catch, and any Lure Modules that are used will remain active for three hours.

The featured Pokemon this time around will be another Gen 3 starter: Torchic. Throughout the Community Day, the Fire-type Pokemon will spawn in the wild more frequently than it normally does, making it much easier to add some to your collection. Going by previous Community Days, you’ll likely also have your first chance to capture a Shiny Torchic.

Finally, if you manage to fully evolve a Torchic into Blaziken up to an hour after the Community Day ends, it’ll learn a special, as-yet-unannounced event-exclusive move. Niantic typically reveals what the special move is the week of the event. You can find more details about next month’s Community Day on the official Pokemon website.

In the meantime, there are a few other big events going on now in Pokemon Go. First, the Legendary Eon Pokemon Latios returned for a special week-long Raid that’s scheduled to end on April 22. Niantic is also holding the annual Eggstravaganza event until April 23, which gives you more chances to hatch baby Pokemon and even capture a Shiny Buneary.

Overwatch is currently free-to-play to celebrate the start of its latest limited-time Archives event, Storm Rising. If you don’t already own the shooter, you can try it for free on PC, PS4, or Xbox One from now through April 23.

The free trial includes every hero, including the new medic character Baptiste, along with all 27 maps. Blizzard says you’ll be able to “level up, earn Loot Boxes, unlock a variety of different customization options for their heroes, and keep any progress made during the trial when they then purchase the game on the same Blizzard or console account.”

Conveniently, the full version is on sale until April 29. From the Blizzard Shop you can grab Overwatch’s standard PC edition for 24% off or the legendary PC edition for 51% off. Alternatively you can upgrade your standard edition to a legendary edition, which includes some bonus skins, for 78% off the usual price. For console players, the Xbox and PlayStation Stores are discounting the legendary edition to around $20 / £17 / AU $33, while participating retailers have also cut the price of Overwatch’s game of the year edition.

This is all to tie in with Storm Rising, Overwatch’s latest PvE event. Blizzard’s description of the mode states: “The clock is ticking as Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba to head off a stormfront and chase down the Omnic Talon boss Maximilien in the all-new Overwatch Archives replayable mission, Storm Rising.”

In addition, the Archives event’s previous modes, Uprising and Retribution, are back for a limited time, while more than 160 new cosmetics are available in total. The pair of modes, along with Storm Rising, are available until May 6.

Overwatch’s Archives event has returned with a new mode named Storm Rising. The PvE mode sees Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba, and it’s live now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Blizzard’s description of the mode states: “The clock is ticking as Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba to head off a stormfront and chase down the Omnic Talon boss Maximilien in the all-new Overwatch Archives replayable mission, Storm Rising.”

In addition, the Archives event’s previous modes, Uprising and Retribution, are back for a limited time, while more than 160 new cosmetics are available in total. The pair of modes, along with Storm Rising, are available until May 6.

Separate to the limited-time event, Overwatch is currently free-to-play through April 23. The game’s “full roster of 30 heroes is playable,” Blizzard states, and that includes the latest character, Baptiste. You’ll keep your progress if you then decide to purchase the full game, which is on sale for up to 51% off until Monday, April 29.

Fortnite updates continue to arrive, and the latest one, v8.40, adds a new dogfighting Battle Royale mode named Air Royale. You can read more about the new LTM in the patch notes below.

Developer Epic’s tease for the mode states: “Pilot the X-4 Stormwing in this Limited-Time Mode as you fight to become the last plane flying! Complete free Challenges to unlock brand new Wraps as you rule the skies.” It’s a Duos-only mode in which each plane starts with three lives. Touching the ground will take one life from you, but you can gain more by hijacking other players’ jets. In an interesting twist, the storm slowly closes in from above, meaning you’ll need to keep an eye on your altitude as battles progress.

A second LTM is also introduced in this update. It’s a variant of an old mode, Food Fight, this time dubbed Deep Fried, which features higher restaurant bases, meaning teams must build up to them to protect their mascots.

Elsewhere in the 8.40 update, the infantry rifle has gained new Epic and Legendary rarities, which each deal 42/44 damage and can be found in floor loot, chests, supply drops, and vending machines. Finally, in the update’s most important change, you can now pet the dog. Good boy.

Epic Games continues to expand its battle royale phenomenon, with another big update coming just last week. That 8.30 patch brought Apex Legends-style Reboot Vans and nerfed The Baller, much to every hamster’s dismay. You can read the full list of battle royale patch notes for version 8.40 below, via Epic Games, or read the changes for the Save the World and Creative modes on the developer’s website.

Fortnite Update v8.40 Patch Notes

Limted-Time Mode: Air Royale

Summary

Climb aboard a plane and take to the skies in this fast-paced mode where players fight to be the last one flying!

Mode Details

• Air Royale is lifting off as a Duos-only mode.
• Each plane has 3 lives, players will respawn until they lose their plane’s last life.
• Touching the ground will instantly eliminate players.
• Parking a plane on the ground for more than a few seconds will cause it to explode – stay airborne!
• Hijacking another team’s plane will add that plane to your existing number of plane lives (and cost the team who lost the plane a life).
• The storm has a ceiling that gradually lowers during the match. Be careful not to fly too high late in the match!
• Loot chests of five different rarities will fall from the sky, allowing players to upgrade the guns they are carrying as well as boosting their plane’s weapons for a short time.
  • To receive the contents of a Chest, simply fly through it.
• If players receive loot from a Chest containing a weapon they already have that’s of the same or worse quality, they’ll receive additional ammo.
  • Chests with higher quality guns will automatically replace the lower quality weapon that’s being carried.
• Floating repair kits can also be found, these heal damaged planes and grant health & shields to players.

LTM: Food Fight–Deep Fried

Summary

• Two teams on either side of the map. A huge barrier down the middle. Lava steadily rising up from below. Build a fort to protect your restaurant mascot. When the Barrier lowers, destroy the enemy’s mascot and then eliminate the remaining enemies to win the match!

Mode Details

• An impassable barrier will be spawned along the center of the map for the first several minutes. Lava starts rising from beneath the map a few minutes into the match.
• Each team will have an under-construction restaurant near the center of the map. Inside is a giant mascot head representing that team.
• If the mascot head is destroyed, that team loses the ability to respawn when eliminated.
• Players should use the time that the barrier is up to construct a defensive fortress around their restaurant.
• As soon as the barrier lowers, fight to take out their mascot before they destroy yours!
• Special red supply drops spawn at match start. These hold a handful of weapons, ammo, consumables, traps and a few hundred metal building materials.
• Players will respawn when eliminated, keeping their inventory & dropping some ammo and resources.
• 100 percent extra resources are gained from farming.
• Building resources found on the ground increased from 30 to 50 per instance.
• No explosive weapons or items are in this mode.
• A small amount of free building materials are granted to each player every second.
• The restaurants are now much higher, requiring players to build up to them.
• May the best food win!

Weapons And Items

• Egg Launcher
  • Everyone’s favorite egg-themed Grenade Launcher skin is back!
  • This is a visual only change for the Grenade Launcher.
• Infantry Rifle
  • Added Epic and Legendary Infantry Rifle variants.
  • Deals 42/44 damage.
  • Can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops and Vending Machines.
  • Uses Medium Ammo.

Gameplay

• You can now pet the dog… and other Pets!
• The Battle Pass Friend XP Bonus has been upgraded!
  • Instead of giving a small XP boost to each friend in your party, you now get a larger XP boost for partying with one or more friends.
  • The overall total XP Bonus remains the same (120%) and will now be much easier to keep active
  • In short, play any match with any number of friends and you’ll be getting the same amount of XP as someone who’s been playing with a full squad of Battle-Pass-owning friends.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Season 8 trailer wouldn’t play in some cases.
• Fixed an issue where the embers from environmental Campfires would linger if the floor they were attached to was destroyed.
• Fixed issue where Coconuts could not be pinged.
• Fixed an issue where turbo building could stop if you ran out of the current type of material you were using.
• Fixed an issue with Traps being be placed inside walls, making them difficult to see.
• Fixed an issue with Traps being placed inconsistently when auto-placed.
• Fixed ‘Emotes’ not playing when bound to specific keys.
• Fixed an issue when using ‘Replay Last Emote’ before using any other emote, so it now plays the emote in the default slot.

Competitive

• New Tournament – April 20 & 21: Fortnite World Cup Online Open Week 2 ($1,000,000 total prize pool!)
  • Top performers in each server region will qualify to the Fortnite World Cup Finals in New York City. Full Fortnite World Cup details and official rules can be found here: https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/competitive/events/world-cup
  • Duos Game Mode
  • Participation in this event requires both players to have reached Champion League in Arena.
  • Region Lock is in effect – players may only participate in the qualifier for a single server region each week of the Online Opens. The server region of the first match entered for that weekend’s tournament will be the one the player will be locked into for that entire weekend.
  • Format:
    • April 20 – Round One: All Eligible Players.
    • April 21 – Round Two: Top 1500 Teams from Round One.
• Added Fortnite World Cup Qualifier slots onto the prize breakout for Online Open tournaments.
• Visual improvements for Lobby panel during Online Open tournaments.
• Updated how Anonymous Mode works in tournaments to provide an improved experience for stream viewers while still protecting streamers.
  • When a player is eliminated, their name will be shown in the elimination feed.
  • When a player eliminates an opponent, their name will be shown to the eliminated player only.
• Maximum Screen Aspect Ratio can no longer be greater than 16:9.

Performance

• Resolved a performance regression occurring on PCs with less than quad-core CPUs.
  • If you’re still experiencing performance issues on PC, try manually adding the “NoRHIThread” to the Epic Games Launcher settings for Fortnite.

Art And Animation

• Increased the size and intensity of the Boom Bow explosion effects to better represent the damage radius.

Audio

• Adjusted the attenuation of the Reboot Van cooldown and Reboot Chip ambient looping audio, so that it’s not as loud.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that would cause the Shotgun equip sounds to occasionally not play.

UI

• Mimic! When bringing up your emote wheel there’s now an option that appears if you’re looking at another player doing an emote you own, to allow you to play the same emote.
• When hiding HUD elements in the options, some of them now collapse to free up the space they were taking up – the minimap for example.
• There’s now a HUD UI option to hide the vehicle control hints.

Bug Fixes

• The Limited Time Mode Victory screen is no longer pushed out of place on mobile/Switch.

Replay

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where drone speed was not saved when scrubbing
• Fixed an issue where scrubbing a replay while in Drone Attach mode would result in the camera being left behind.

Mobile

• Updated the Baller controls on default and custom HUDs.
  • Baller controls are available to be adjusted in the HUD Layout Tool for custom HUD players.
• Audiovisual shot indicators will no longer display for players in the same vehicle.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with the Android app icon being incorrectly displayed.
• Fixed an issue with Voice Chat while spectating
  • Push-To-Talk button is also no longer hidden while spectating
• Fixed an issue where Auto-run would not activate in vehicles.
• Fixed an issue where the Reboot Card description was missing.
• Fixed an issue where the Arena overview panel was not displaying.
• Fixed an issue with the FPS counter being shown twice.
• Fixed an issue where the weapon icon would not display in inventory hot bar sometimes.
• Fixed an issue where textures would appear stretched when on a Creative Island.
• Fixed an issue that displayed a checkmark icon on certain commands of vehicles.
• Fixed an issue where a second storm wall would appear in the desert biome during the first closing period.
• Fixed an issue where some chests could not be opened.
• Fixed issues where weak wifi halted gameplay and could cause some disconnects.