Black Myth: Wukong has released a sleek new Chinese New Year trailer, celebrating the incoming Year of the Ox as only a Dark Souls-inspired, Chinese mythology-based game could. While the trailer was created just to celebrate the New Year, and doesn’t represent the plot or bosses of the actual game, it’s still a great look at how the Black Myth’s premise and combat could play out.
As explained by Forbes, the opening text to the video reads: “As the Mouse gives way to the Ox, we have a growing talent and force. Here is a little tune for you, gamers dear, may you have a prosperous year.” The video finishes with the tagline, “be strong like a bull.”
The video showcases a two-headed rat monster that protagonist Wu Kong the Monkey King vanquishes, representing a year that most people would probably be more than happy to brutally murder. The rat monster is then replaced by a hulking ox-headed beast, symbolising the incoming year. The trailer comes with the disclaimer that these concepts have been created just for Chinese New Year, so don’t expect them to end up in the finished game.
Game Science is a Chinese indie studio that previously developed Art of War: Red Tides. While still little known in the West, Black Myth: Wukong has already attracted a lot of attention and hype thanks to its flashy trailers and cool concept.
Sadly Black Myth: Wukong isn’t due out this year, with its loose release date currently scheduled for 2023. In the meantime, check out the game’s 13-minute announcement trailer for more of the game’s combat and unique take on a classic Chinese tale.
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It looks like the PS5’s DualSense is the latest gaming controller facing the irritating problem of drift, where controllers register joystick movement without the player touching them. While it’s unclear how widespread the problem is, gamers looking to get defective controllers fixed are being faced with long wait times and extra shipping charges..
As reported by Kotaku, gamers are starting to post stories and videos online of their controllers drifting, as well as anecdotes about their experiences trying to get them fixed or replaced through Sony. The GameFAQs forum shows at least 9 different threads by users experiencing drift in their brand new PS5 controllers.
“The controller I had packaged with my PS5 had drift only a week in (I got it at launch) and it definitely was not wear and tear since I probably put in less than 10 hours at that point,” user Lionhartwolf explained in one thread. They also detailed their experiences with Sony as far as getting the defective controller fixed.
“They said they would send me a box so I could send it in. I’ve been waiting just under 2 weeks though and still nothing,” the post reads. “Once concerning factor I saw was with the shipping instructions though. Despite the [customer service] guy saying they will pay for shipping the email says I am responsible.”
A customer service worker contacted by Kotaku also confirmed that controller drift is covered by warranty, and explained that the customer was responsible for paying shipping to a Sony repair center, while Sony would pay for the shipping back to the customer once repaired.
Microsoft has also been the target of a class action lawsuit over drift in Xbox controllers, which alleges that Microsoft was aware of controller drift problems and failed to tell customers about it. A judge recently granted Microsoft’s request to take that case to arbitration.
With the PS5 only newly released, and still suffering from stock shortages, it’s unknown whether drift problems will end up as widespread as Nintendo’s, or whether the cases will remain few and far between.
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There are so many Star Wars movies and TV shows on the way, from more than one spin-off of The Mandalorian to Taika Waititi’s standalone film that we, honestly, don’t know too much about. One of the more intriguing projects in the works, though, reached back into the past of the Star Wars franchise. Andor is a Disney+ original series focused on Cassian Andor, the character played by Diego Luna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The series is still quite a ways off from actually debuting on the streaming service. In fact, before it premieres we will see The Book of Boba Fett, a spin-off of The Mandalorian. We could also see the third season of The Mandalorian, for that matter.
Still, while there’s a long time before the new original series premieres, we know quite a bit about it–including casting and plot details, as well as the creative team. Take a look below at everything we’ve learned about Andor thus far.
What’s it about?
According to an official description from Disney, the series will follow “Cassian Andor’s adventures as a rebel spy during the formative years of the Rebellion, before the events of A New Hope.” So get ready for a bunch of space espionage and any number of blaster fights set against the backdrop of a brewing rebellion.
Who’s in charge?
Originally, The Americans alum Stephen Schiff was signed on to serve as showrunner on the series. However, he was ultimately replaced by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-writer Tony Gilroy. He was also originally set to direct a number of episodes, including the pilot. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, though, he opted not to travel to the show’s set in the United Kingdom. Toby Haynes (Utopia, Black Mirror) stepped in to helm the first three episodes.
How many episodes will there be?
The first season of Andor will consist of 12 episodes. That’s more than other Disney+ originals, like The Mandalorian (8 episode seasons) and WandaVision (9 episodes).
When is it set?
This is a bit of a mystery. As previously noted, it’s set in the “formative years of the Rebellion.” So it’ll be a prequel to Rogue One–in which pretty much all of the heroes died. After all, it’s hard to have a Cassian Andor series if Cassian Andor is dead. At this point, though, there’s no telling how many years before those events it’ll be set.
Who is in it?
While the titular Andor is the focus of the series–and will once more be played by Diego Luna–there’s a massive supporting cast in place. At this point, though, we don’t actually know who any of them will play. You can take a look at the confirmed cast below.
Stellan Skarsgård
Adria Arjona
Fiona Shaw
Denise Gough
Kyle Soller
And that’s just to name a few. According to a behind-the-scenes featurette released by Disney, there will be over 200 named characters on the series.
What about K-2SO?
Thankfully, we know that Andor’s best droid friend K-2SO will return for the series eventually–and Alan Tudyk will voice the character once more. That said, don’t expect the droid to pop up in Season 1. According to Tudyk, “I’m going to be in the show. It’s just that the story that Tony [Gilroy] is telling doesn’t involve K-2SO until later on… I can’t be too specific, but I can definitely say that I’m not going to be in the first season.”
Any other notable Star Wars characters?
One actor whose role we do know is Genevieve O’Reilly. She will reprise the role of Mon Mothma, a Rebel Alliance founder who appeared in both Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One.
Where is it filming?
Filming for the series kicked off in late 2020 in London, England. In a behind-the-scenes featurette released in December, the amount of work being done to create the TV show was revealed–including massive sets, a number of costumes, and plenty of alien designs.
When will it premiere?
A specific release date has not been given. However, we do know that Andor will premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
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The 10.3 patch for Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is live now for PC players. This patch is expanding Season 10 with new features including a new Weapons Sound Selection System, lighting improvements for Karakin, and team emotes, alongside additional performance upgrades.
Now players can choose between the original and remastered versions of certain weapons with the new Weapons Sound Selection System, including the M249, M416, Kar98k, and SKS. You can set this to your preference in the Settings menu under the Audio tab.
The overall quality of the lighting for Karakin has been improved with a lighting pass. Each area has had its lighting enhanced to give it its own distinctive vibe. Other bugs have also been fixed, improving player experience.
Certain emotes can now be used together with your teammates while playing. You’ll now be able to sync up eligible emotes with teammates within a 15 meter radius of your character. You can check out each emote and see how many players can sync-up with you by accessing the Customization section of the main menu and selecting the Emotes section.
The reputation system that was introduced in patch 10.2 has also been updated. Now if a player exits a match in the starting area prior to boarding the plane, it will not negatively impact their reputation. This is only applicable to normal games, not Ranked ones.
PUBG 10.3 Patch Notes
Squad Emotes
Sync-up your emotes with players within a 15 meter radius of your character in game or in the lobby.
You can choose to stop emoting at any time, independent of the person who had initiated the emotes.
Free-look camera is supported while emoting in TPP only.
View each emote and the maximum number of players who can sync-up with you at once under Customization, Emotes, on the main menu.
You’re unable to use other interactions while emoting, such as vaulting or picking up item
Weapon Sound Selection System
Supported Weapons:
M249
M416
Kar98k
SKS
Select your preference from the Settings Menu, under the Audio tab.
Karakin Lighting Improvements
Karakin has received a major lighting tune up raising visibility and enhancing the atmosphere. Other additional improvements have been made to the map to improve playability.
Kicking AFK Players in Training Mode
Much like in TDM, players who are AFK in Training Mode will be removed from the session, with a 10 second warning prior to removal.
Players will receive a message after being kicked, to let you know why you’ve been removed.
Players who are AFK in Training Mode after queuing for Ranked with our Dual Matchmaking will be removed from the Training Mode session, but remain in their Ranked queue.
Improved Store Experience
We’ve made a few changes to the store to make in game shopping a more intuitive experience.
Improved G-Coin messaging on purchases to ensure players understand the value of their G-Coin purchase.
Previously, any bonus G-Coin was bundled into one G-Coin total. Now, bonus G-Coin is also displayed as an independent figure.
Added Currency Filter
You can sort and browse the items by BP or G-Coin.
Season 10 is Wrapping Up
Haven will only be around until the end of Season 10 so get your close quarters fix while you can!
Survivor Pass Schedule
Survivor Pass: Breakthrough comes to an end on March 24. You still have two weeks from that point to claim all your rewards and access the coupon shop. Although, you’ll no longer be able to purchase or use Level-Up Tokens, purchase the Premium Survivor Pass, or complete missions from that date.
March 23, 7 PM PDT
March 24, 11 AM KST
March 24, 3 AM CET
Reputation System Update
The Reputation System introduced is one of our newest features, designed to encourage positive player interactions within the community. We have received lots of player feedback and a common trend we’re seeing is that some players feel certain penalties are too harsh.
We heard your concerns and are making the following changes with Update 10.3:
Normal Matches: Exiting a match while in the starting area, prior to boarding the plane will NOT negatively impact your reputation.
Ranked Matches: You will lose reputation for exiting Ranked Matches, even if exiting while in the starting area prior to the plane leaving. There are some exceptions, which you can read below.
You can leave a Ranked Match up to 5 minutes after (but not before) the plane has taken off without losing reputation, in situations where matchmaking has provided you with a random teammate who has then exited the match.
Additionally, the same applies if matchmaking fails to provide you with at least one random teammate after queuing for Ranked Squads.
Performance Enhancements
Here’s a rundown of the latest updates we made to improve performance.
Improved performance for low core count CPUs.
Optimized the pipeline for lighting calculation methods to improve performance.
Improved CPU performance by processing both character animation and vehicle physics calculations in parallel.
Improved memory optimization of character models through memory cache optimization.
Improved memory and processing optimization cost.
Optimized CPU/GPU performance with improved character creation/deletion logic.
Optimizations have been made so that objects such as furniture and stairs, can be viewed normally while ADS even at medium/long distances.
Items and Skins
Victory Dance 39
Slow-dodge
Victory Dance 40
Sales Period
2/10 2021 11 AM KST – 2/22 2022 11 AM KST
2/9 2021 6 PM PST – 2/21 2022 6 PM PST
2/10 2021 3 AM CET – 2/22 2022 3 AM CET
Red Hood and Big Bad Skins – February 13, 11 AM KST – March 13, 11 AM KST
RED HOOD’S BUNDLE
Red’s Scar
Red’s Hood
Red’s Jeans
Red’s Gloves
Red’s Boots
BIG BAD BUNDLE
Big Bad’s Hood
Big Bad’s Jeans
Big Bad’s Boots
Bloodlust Weapon Skins
Bloodlust – SKS
Bloodlust – Vector
Emotes
Victory Dance 41
Victory Dance 42
Bug Fixes
Gameplay
Fixed the issue where sometimes respawns wouldn’t work correctly in TDM.
Fixed a clipping issue when Racy Reindeer Top and Lv. 2 Vest is equipped at the same time.
Fixed a clipping issue when a female character equips Sinister Skull Mask and PGI.S Hood.
Fixed a clipping issue when a female character equips Gen.g Jersey and Madsy Utility Belt.
Fixed the issue where the female character’s hair disappears when wearing Shiba Crew Hood Jersey and a hat.
Fixed the clipping issue when Christmas Party Jacket clips with the main weapon.
Fixed the issue where reporting a player in Custom Match – Observer didn’t function.
Fixed an issue where the livestream displays wouldn’t function correctly with certain PC configurations.
Fixed an issue where the video on livestream displays would stop working correctly.
Fixed the issue where when using a controller, the r-stick and d-pad on didn’t scroll or change focus when navigating the inventory in certain occasions.
Fixed the issue where certain vehicle parts were sticking out too low onto the ground.
UI/UX
Fixed an issue with an out-of-date Key Guide on the loading screen.
Fixed the issue where when selecting Emotes in the menu, the wrong sound effect played.
Fixed an issue where the size of a character in the PASS 10-2 loading screen was too large.
Fixed a translation setting issue for Japanese in the Reputation System.
Fixed an issue where filtering didn’t work when entering a banned word after pressing [CTRL] + [Backspace] before entering chat.
Fixed the issue where other players’ reputation levels were not displayed correctly.
Fixed the issue where the number of daily/weekly missions did not match the actual number of missions.
Fixed the issue where the previous season points are incorrectly displayed.
Fixed an issue where the weapon icon in use was displayed as a steering wheel when the observer is watching a player who is shooting while driving.
Fixed the issue where certain nicknames are displayed in the wrong position when the observer zooms in on the map.
Fixed the issue where the visible/invisible hat icons in the inventory weren’t aligned correctly.
Fixed the issue where the Hero section in the News Page wasn’t displayed properly under certain conditions.
Fixed the issue where the attachment UI disappears when switching back and forth fast between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat in a vehicle with the inventory window open.
Australian animation and visual effects digital studio Animal Logic has been tapped by Warner Bros. to produce Toto, a musical adaptation of the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz according to The Hollywood Reporter. No release date has yet been announced.
The film, based on the 2017 children’s book of the same name from author Michael Morpurgo, retells the classic The Wizard of Oz story but from the dog Toto’s perspective. This being a musical, it’s safe to assume that the film will not subscribe to the widely held belief that dogs cannot understand English but only tones.
This version comes from writer John August (the recent live-action Aladdin, the 2010 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie adaptation), and will be directed by Alex Timbers (Mozart in the Jungle). Animal Logic has worked on animated features including The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, and Happy Feet.
Additionally, since the publication of the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, there have been many reboots, remakes, and reinterpretations–this upcoming film continues that tradition, but is not even the only new version currently in the works. It was also announced on Tuesday that Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman, HBO’s Watchmen) will be directing a new movie adaptation as well.
In January, former Riot executive assistant Sharon O’Donnell filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Riot CEO Nicolas Laurent of creating a hostile work environment. The allegations in the suit range from unwanted sexual advances to demeaning remarks about O’Donnell’s femininity and tone. Additionally, the filing alleges that O’Donnell was stripped of work duties and eventually terminated in 2020 after reporting Laurent because she didn’t reciprocate his advances.
Riot denied the nature of O’Donnell’s termination in a statement to the Washington Post: “The plaintiff was dismissed from the company over seven months ago based on multiple well-documented complaints from a variety of people. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.” The statement also says that Riot has a special committee of its board of directors conducting an investigation with the help of an outside law firm to ensure impartiality and transparency.
In a January 7 filing obtained by the Washington Post, O’Donnell alleges that Laurent invited her to travel and work from home alone with him and directed several sexual comments at her, including one about how his underwear fit. According to the filing, Laurent asked O’Donnell if she could “handle him when they were alone at his house.”
The lawsuit alleges that Laurent became angry and hostile after O’Donnell turned down his advances, limiting her workplace duties until she was eventually terminated. “[O’Donnell] believes that by this conduct Laurent explicitly and implicitly conditioned job benefits and the absence of job detriments on [O’Donnell’s] acceptance of sexual conduct,” O’Donnell’s attorney Michael Baltaxe wrote in the filing. O’Donnell’s attorneys have not yet responded to the Washington Post’s request for comment.
Riot made headlines in 2018 after a Kotaku report detailed a culture of sexism within the company. This produced a class action gender discrimination lawsuit and two separate investigations by California regulators. In 2020, Laurent published an open letter to other leaders in the games industry reflecting on Riot’s internal audit and the steps the company took to improve its culture. This was the same year O’Donnell was terminated from the company. According to the filing, Laurent’s harassment was consistent from when she was hired to when she was terminated.
In a statement to the Washington Post, a Riot spokesperson said: “Our CEO has pledged his full cooperation and support during this process, and we’re committed to ensuring that all claims are thoroughly explored and appropriately resolved.”
It’s kind of hard to believe, but somehow Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock have never worked together, despite all the times they probably shared movie theater marquees and “highest grossing” lists. That’s set to change in the upcoming film Bullet Train, as Sandra Bullock joins Brad Pitt for the film according to Deadline.
Bullet Train is based on the best-selling Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. The story, described by the publisher as a dark, satirical thriller, centers on a comically luckless assassin named Nanao who is tasked with getting a suitcase off a train. Once onboard, though, he discovers that other assassins, including a baby-faced sadist and a pair of twins named after fruit, are after the same piece of luggage. The English-language translation of the book is scheduled to hit shelves in August 2021.
Bullock and Pitt will share the screen with Bryan Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2, Atlanta), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Masi Oka (Heroes), Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Logan Lerman (the Percy Jackson films), and Andrew Koji (Warrior). David Leitch, who directed Deadpool 2 and produced John Wick, will direct. Zak Olkewicz will write the film.
The actors haven’t yet been formally attached to specific roles just yet, and being that Bullet Train is originally a Japanese novel, we’re willing to bet the roles will undergo some significant adaptation for western audiences before we hear more about it.
Bullet train doesn’t have a release window just yet.
Humanity’s last safe city has fallen to an overwhelming invasion force, led by Ghaul, the imposing commander of the brutal Red Legion. He has stripped the city’s Guardians of their power, and forced the survivors to flee. You will venture to mysterious, unexplored worlds of our solar system to discover an arsenal of weapons and devastating new combat abilities. To defeat the Red Legion and confront Ghaul, you must reunite humanity’s scattered heroes, stand together, and fight back to reclaim our home.
Lance McDonald, AKA ManFightsDragon, AKA the guy who’s known for data mining games like P.T., Bloodborne, and the Dark/Demon Souls series for cut or hidden content, has officially released his 60 frames per second mod for Bloodborne.
The patch allows players to alter the 1.09 version of Bloodborne (the latest update) and modify the game engine to increase the framerate cap to 60 FPS, and optionally lower the resolution to 1280×720.
In a previous video demonstrating the 60 FPS mod (which you should absolutely watch), McDonald shared that accessing Bloodborne’s debug mode and altering the framerate only served to speed up everything in the game to twice the speed, creating a comical Benny Hill effect. The PS4 Pro afforded some older games a boost mode that improved framerate and other performance metrics, but Bloodborne appeared to be locked behind what McDonald calls an “arbitrary” 30 FPS framerate, something Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro weren’t restricted by on the Pro. IGN has reached out to McDonald to clarify how well this patch could work on a base PS4, if at all.
You can find McDonald’s mod and instructions on his Patreon, but make sure you know what you’re doing. Altering your PS4 console in such a way will almost certainly void any warranty you have should something go awry. You’ll have to mod it to run homebrew software in the first place.
Don’t get your hopes up for an official 60 FPS patch from FromSoftware or Sony anytime soon, as neither company has even alluded to any intention of revisiting the game’s code. Considering the Demon’s Souls remake looks astounding at 60 FPS, we can still only hope they’ll see fit to do so.
The Pokemon Company has canceled this year’s Pokemon World Championships. In a statement on the official Pokemon website, the company explained that the competition will be moved back to 2022 in accordance with public health guidance, while all sanctioned Play Pokemon events will remain suspended this year:
“After careful review and pursuant to guidance set forth by local, regional, and national health authorities, as well as the World Health Organization, Public Health England, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have made the difficult decision to move out the next Pokemon World Championships to 2022. This event is planned to take place in London.
“With the continued suspension of the Play! Pokemon event series, all sanctioned Play! Pokemon events including League Challenge, League Cup, Premier Challenge, and Midseason Showdown will remain suspended until further notice. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of all our competitors at an expanded 2022 Pokemon World Championships in London.”
This marks the second year in a row that the Pokemon World Championships have been postponed; the 2020 World Championships were similarly canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pokemon Company says that all invitations to the 2020 competition will still be honored in 2022, although it has not yet announced any further details on next year’s event.
The Pokemon World Championships feature dedicated competitions for the Pokemon Trading Card Game, mainline video game series, and Pokken Tournament DX. The 2020 event were slated to be the first featuring Pokemon Sword and Shield, the series’ latest mainline installments.
While the Pokemon World Championships may have been canceled, this year is still shaping up to be a notable one for the series. This month marks Pokemon’s 25th anniversary, and The Pokemon Company is celebrating with new merchandise lines, announcements, and more activities, including a collaboration with Katy Perry.
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