Author: Trafficblast

Activision has announced its plans for PAX Aus, and it includes a barbecue built in the likeness of Spyro that actually breathes fire. PAX attendees can find the “Spyro BBQ” at The Common Man restaurant at the South Wharf near the convention center.

Activision will light it up every hour for a “unique fire show,” while the company will also offer three different lamb dishes inspired by the Spyro franchise. These include Sheila’s Pick, Toasty’s Nightmare, and Spyro’s Flame Feast. If you just want to play the newest Spyro, Activision has the Spyro Reignited Trilogy available at its booth on the show floor for all three days.

Activision is also bringing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to PAX Aus, and this represents the first time the game is being made available for the public to play in Australia. Shadows Die Twice is the next game from Bloodborne studio From Software.

Additionally, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be playable at PAX for PC in the ASUS and Nvidia booths.

Outside of playable games, there will be a Destiny 2 “Vigil for Cayde” panel that has a pretty great description: “What can we do to offer solace in this trying time? And how are we going to get revenge on The Forsaken for depriving us of Nathan Fillion?!”

PAX Aus kicks off on October 26 with a keynote address by Rhianna Pratchett, who worked on the Tomb Raider reboot and its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider. She also wrote Mirror’s Edge, Heavenly Sword, and the Overlord series. During her PAX Aus keynote, she’ll be engaging directly with fans, answering questions about any number of topics.

GameSpot’s theatre, the GameSpot Dropbear Theatre, will have programming running Friday through Sunday. We’ll be hosting panels on Fortnite’s coverage in the mainstream media, voice acting featuring actors from Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Fallout 4, and hacking a video game, among other topics. You can see the full programming lineup for the GameSpot Dropbear Theatre here, while a full list of every PAX Aus panel can be seen here.

Also new for this year is that PAX Aus and another big-time Australian gaming show, the EB Expo, are joining forces. PAX Aus three-day tickets are sold out, but you can still buy some single-day tickets here on the event’s website.

Epic Games is rolling out Fortnitemare, a spooky, Halloween-themed Fortnite event that will be available in both the Battle Royale and Save The World modes. In the former, players will have a new set of challenges to complete, and in return will receive loot and cool new cosmetics. “During Fortnitemares, you’ll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale,” Epic explains. “There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow. Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players.”

As part of the event, the new Deadfire Outfit is available and is described as a “new type of reactive outfit” that changes as you progress in a match. This, Epic says, will let players “show off [their] skills in style.” The changes to the outfit are dependent on the damage you deal to your enemies and also how long you’re able to stay alive. The skin also comes with the Shackled Stone Back Bling and the Dark Shard pickaxe is also available in the store. These are also reactive cosmetics.

In terms of challenges, Fortnitemare will gift players with cosmetics for completing them. However, Epic is planning to refresh the challenges and the rewards “every few days.” Those that stick it through and complete the final set of challenges will get the Dark Engine glide, which you can see below, along with the Deadfire skin and the first batch of Fortnitemare challenges.

Click image to view in full screen

Fortnitemare Challenges Day 1

• Destroy Cube Monsters
• Deal damage with Assault Rifles or Pistols to Cube Monsters
• Visit a Corrupted Area in different matches
• Dance at different Gargoyles

In Save The World, meanwhile, Hexsylvania has returned. Players will be able to check out “multiple sets of story quests and earn new rewards as you fight the fright alongside your friends.” You can learn more about these on Epic’s website.

Epic Games has also detailed the contents of Fortnite update 6.20 which, along with giving players Fortnitemares, adds the new Six Shooter weapon to the game. It also gives players the ability to redeploy Gliders after they’ve landed on the Island. This feature is something Epic is testing, so it’s available in all Battle Royale game modes.

Epic has detailed the contents of Fortnite‘s 6.20 patch, and it’s quite a substantial one. The big ticket item in the update is the launch of “Fortnitemares,” the game’s Halloween-themed event. “Explore all of the tasty treats, exciting appearances, and new looks,” Epic Games says about the event. “During Fortnitemares, you’ll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale. There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow.

“Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players.” Interestingly, Fortnitemares seems to blur the line between the Battle Royale mode and Save The World mode by giving players zombie-like enemies to fend off.

The other major additions to Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode is the Six Shooter, a new weapon, and the ability to redeploy Gliders. Epic has said it is currently testing the latter of these two and, as a result, it’s available in all Battle Royale game modes. In Playground, there’s a new pirate ship minigame as well as “other fun additions” alongside changes to the Spiky Stadium. Take a look at the full Fortnite update 6.20 patch notes below, courtesy of Epic.

General

Social

The Social List has been completely redesigned. This is the first of many steps toward improving the social experience within Fortnite. Expect more frequent updates and improvements to this experience over the coming weeks.

• The main Social List has received new art, animations, and flow.
• The Social List button has moved to the left side of the screen and can now be directly accessed with a controller.
• Controller and Touch support has been improved.
• Party Finder has been removed
  • All previous Party Finder functionality has moved to the new Social List.
  • Places that used to open Party Finder now open the new Social List.

Known Issues

• The Fortnitemares cinematic video will not play on the Nintendo Switch platform.

Battle Royale

Limited Time Event: Fortnitemares

The Cube strikes back, bringing Fortnitemares to Battle Royale! Drop in and discover what the Cube has unleashed.

• Cube Fragments spawn Cube Monsters! Drop in and discover the different types.
  • Large Cube Fragments are found near corrupted areas of the island.
  • Small Cube Fragments are created randomly throughout the match.
• Cube Fiends, Brutes, and Fragments all have a chance to drop loot.
• Defeating a Cube Fiend or Brute will grant a small amount of shield.
• Fiend Hunter Crossbow added. Fortnitemare Limited time weapon.
  • Available in Epic variant.
    • 40 base damage
    • 1.8 shots per second.
    • 4x damage against Fiends
  • Seven Arrow magazine size, unlimited ammo.
  • Can be found from floor loot, chests and Vending Machines.

Playground

New Port-A grenades are now available in Vending Machines at the southern edge of Loot Lake. The Port-A-Challenge set includes the Building Challenge, Obstacle Course, and Firing Range minigames. There’s four of each type with varying difficulty.

The Spiky Stadium makes a return with a brand new respawn system and Vending Machines to provide all the necessary grenades. Finally, there’s the Port-A-Pirateship mini-game. This grenade spawns a re-creation of the minigame shown off by SXVXN!

• Port-A-Challenge
  • Obstacle Course
    • Collect the tokens and avoid the obstacles while honing your building skills.
  • Building Challenge
    • Build the structure as fast as possible.
  • Firing Range
    • Take out as many dummies as you can within the time limit.
• Spiky Stadium v2
  • Once inside the new Spiky Stadium, players will respawn at designated spawn points inside the playspace.
  • Vending machines provide grenades and Traps to allow you to customize your play.
• Port-A-Pirateship
  • A re-creation of the minigame shown off by SXVXN.
  • Spawns two large wooden Pirate ships.
  • The minigame will split players into two teams, with the goal of destroying the other team’s ship.
• Port-A-Pirateship Ironclad Edition
  • Spawns two large metal Pirate ships.
  • Grenades and Rockets are provided for maximum destruction
• New Vending Machines have been added across the map to provide more Traps and weapons.
• A new respawn button has been added to the in-game player menu.

Weapons + Items

• Six Shooter added.
  • Available in Uncommon, Rare and Epic variants.
    • 34 / 36 / 38 base damage.
    • Shoot from the hip for faster fire rate, or trade rate of fire for precision by aiming down the sight
  • Uses Medium Ammo.
  • Can be found from floor loot, chests and Vending Machines.
• The Rocket Launcher is now the Pumpkin Rocket Launcher.
  • This is a visual only change.
• Hand Cannon balance changes.
  • Increased damage to structures.
    • Epic – From 79 to 150
    • Legendary – From 83 to 157
  • Increased minimum long-range body shot damage.
    • Epic – From 30 to 50
    • Legendary – From 31 to 52
  • Increased minimum long-range head shot damage.
    • Epic – From 60 to 100
    • Legendary – From 62 to 104
• Stink Bomb
  • Increased chance to find from floor loot by 0.2%
  • Increased chance to find from Chests by 1.7%

Gameplay

• The Glider Redeploy functionality that’s available in the Soaring Limited Time Modes can now be used in all game modes. Help us test this feature and let us know what you think.
  • When in mid-air and greater than 10m up, press Jump to deploy your glider.
• Weapons now reload upon respawn in modes that keep the player’s inventory.
• Storm Changes
  • Wait time for phase 3 has been reduced from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
  • Wait time for phase 5 has been reduced from 70 seconds to 50 seconds.
  • Late game moving circles will now immediately begin traveling to a new location after it reaches its current destination.
  • Storm’s maximum damage has been reduced from 10 to 8.
• Players will now take 2 damage per second while in the Down But Not Out state instead of 2 damage every 2 seconds.
  • Maximum time in the DBNO state reduced from 100 seconds to 50 seconds if no friendly player attempts to revive you.

Bug Fixes

• Removing ability to rocket ride Quad Launcher rockets.
  • Fixes streaming issues on low-end iOS devices.

Audio

• Added unique sounds when cycling through Traps.
• Removed the in-air audio cue for Gliders that belong to friendly teammates.
• Reduced volume of Dark Viking glider.

UI

• Your name now always appears at the top of your squad list in-game.

Bug Fixes

• When a Challenge bundle is delayed, it will now display as “Coming Soon” rather than “Unlocking in 0 seconds.”
• Chain quests in the Challenge bundles now show the current quest number in the chain over the total number of quests in the chain.
  • Example: 1/2, 2/3, etc.

Art + Animation

• New variants added to the Musha and Hime Outfits that are part of the Bushido set.
  • No Challenges are needed to unlock these variants. If you own the Outfits they will be automatically unlocked.

Bug Fixes

• Pets no longer get stuck floating in the air after their owner drives a vehicle off a jump.
• Fixed Quadcrasher Jump Trick animation displays.
• Changes in other players’ aim and view directions are now smoother, both in-game and during replays.

Mobile

• Better handling of larger memory Android devices (6 GB+)
• Custom HUD Layout users can now toggle the visibility of buttons across Combat/Build modes.
  • Red – Hidden
  • Green – Visible
  • Blue – Does not affect visibility
  • Buttons will only be shown when they are relevant to the player, even when set to “visible”.
    • Example: Buttons shown while holding a weapon will only be shown on screen while a weapon is being held.
• The Combat/Build quickbar is now resizeable within Custom HUD Layout.
  • This includes extra buttons.
• Players can now edit structures while in combat mode while holding any weapon.

Bug Fixes

• The first weapon picked now properly equips automatically.

Season 6 of Fortnite has been pretty dark and spooky throughout thanks to the “Darkness Rises” theme. Because of this, many of the new skins and cosmetics are quite creepy, like the Dire Wolf skin that evolves as you level it up. For more Halloween events in video games, check out our Halloween roundup.

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is quickly approaching, bringing the mascot character back to his roots before his trip to Skylands. The latest trailer shows the little dragon and his surrounding cast looking better than ever.

The reignited trilogy features three Spyro games that hit the PlayStation from 1998-2000. That includes Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The character was notable at the time for its characterization and animation, and that shows well in this visual overhaul. Developer Toys for Bob had its work cut out for it creating an updated style that remains true to the original, which required some filling in the gaps.

“When you look at the original game and you squint your eyes at it, there’s a lot of imagination that you had to do at the time to fill in the blanks.” Toys For Bob co-studio head Paul Yan told us. “For us, it’s taking the game, and asking: What do people remember about this? It was important to start with the memories as opposed to how do you interpret exactly what’s on the screen.”

Pre-ordering can get you a Spyro keychain. There’s only one version of the game, so you don’t have to pick and choose between editions that are special or definitive. As a remaster of a classic trilogy, it comes in at a budget price of $40. It’s due to release on November 13 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Fallout 76’s beta is beginning today on Xbox One, and Bethesda has released a whole new batch of screenshots to mark the occasion. These images put an emphasis on the lovely vistas of West Virginia, albeit a slightly more irradiated version than you may have seen in the state’s tourism ads.

To prepare for launch, the company also released a letter to its fans thanking them for their support and cautioning that this is a very different kind of Fallout game. It stressed that the studio cares about these worlds and wants to do right by them, and that as an online and live game the launch of Fallout 76 would be just the beginning. The studio is looking ahead to a long period of bug fixes and other support.

“Given what we’re doing with 76, we know we’re opening everyone up to all new spectacular issues none of us have encountered,” Bethesda wrote. “Some we’re aware of, such as areas where performance needs to improve with lots of players.”

The beta is coming first to Xbox One, with PC and PS4 to follow on October 30. Pre-ordering will grant you access to the beta but you may not get in right away. Instead, Bethesda will be giving out codes for the beta itself as it invites in more players to stress test. For that same reason, the tests themselves will take place in concentrated chunks of a few hours at a time to force players together.

The beta is said to be the the full game and your progress will carry over to the full game. The full game launches on November 14.