In a Twitch blog post now edited to remove the announcement, the platform introduced new customized emote modifiers–which included sombreros, guitars, and rumba shakers–in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. The exact text from screenshots still floating around reads, “Use a customized sub emote to show support for your favorite Hispanic and LatinX streamer.”
Needless to say, some members of the gaming community thought the images were insensitive cultural stereotypes and cliche depictions of Hispanic and LatinX cultures.
I would just like to say @Twitch this is crusty. This is not the way to support and uplift your hispanic and latinx creators with mexican stereotypes. Just saying. pic.twitter.com/yf2vN1KRdn
However, shortly after people on the internet criticized Twitch’s poorly thought-out emotes, the blog post was scrubbed of the announcement. Twitch then posted on Twitter apologizing for its actions and the images’ insensitivity. The platform has removed the emote modifiers.
We launched these emote modifiers today as part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month but we clearly missed the mark, and we apologize. These were not an appropriate representation of Hispanic and LatinX culture, and we’ve removed them.
The platform has landed in hot water before for insensitive actions. Twitch’s Black Lives Matter video featured very few Black streamers and mostly featured white streamers, much to the chagrin of Twitter users, who took issue with the fact that Twitch was advocating for Black Twitch streamers, but not showing or promoting any in the video.
Twitch is also currently testing ads that can run in the middle of streams, a move that has so far been highly unpopular among much of Twitch’s audience. Both viewers and streamers have asked Twitch to not move forward with the feature.
Like everyone else here. No. If you tested this you had a skewed audience. If you didn’t test this before this, this is bad. Either way. Please don’t do this. Most of us have scheduled ad breaks during stream for a reason. Don’t interrupt our stream flow with a random ad.
Hey Griver, thanks for your comment. For what it’s worth, this *is* the test – we will be monitoring the data from this experiment coupled with your feedback to improve and provide a better experience over time.
In response to replies from concerned Twitch users, the company made sure to emphasize that the new ads are a test, and not permanently implemented. It remains to be seen how Twitch will pacify its user base and keep mid-roll ads.
Just as in its predecessor, you’re going to die a lot in Spelunky 2. That’s kind of the point. Throughout your runs, you’ll be stabbed, beaten, burned, crushed, bludgeoned–a regular Vigo the Carpathian. In some playthroughs, you’ll make permanent progress, whether that’s adding a new listing to your journal or unlocking a permanent shortcut. But more importantly, you’ll constantly be learning, uncovering new ways in which the game’s many elements can interact, often–but not always!–to your detriment.
Every Spelunky 2 run starts the same, with nothing but your trusty whip at your side. But your expanded pool of knowledge grows with each run, and it’s knowing how enemies behave, levels can be laid out, and items function that will prove invaluable. Spelunky 2 is a ruthless game where a run that feels like it’s going great can end in the blink of an eye, all due to a minor bump into a minor enemy.
With all of this in mind, we’ve assembled some beginner’s tips and tricks that should prove helpful in your journey, particularly if you’re a newcomer or relative novice to the Spelunky series.
Don’t Attack Everything
If you can safely deal with an enemy, it’s wise to do so, lest they end up coming back to hurt you when you’re not expecting it. But Spelunky 2 doesn’t reward you with XP, items, or money for killing enemies, so there’s no reason to go out of your way to pick a fight that you can avoid. The path of least resistance can often be the wisest one, especially as you’re learning the game.
Always Hold Onto Objects
It’s exciting to get your hands on a special weapon or tool, but it’s hard to overstate the importance of the more mundane objects you come across. That includes arrows, vases (more on those later), rocks–hell, even a skull can be a lifesaver.
Almost everything you come across in Spelunky can be deadly, but the traps that fire a single arrow in a straight, horizontal line can be among the most frustrating. These arrows deal two damage and can send you flying to your death, so it’s essential to deal with them while staying out of harm’s way. You should always be on the lookout for these traps so that you can trigger them safely. A bomb or rope will do, but it’s best not to waste those since they tend to be in short supply.
Instead, you can rely on more mundane objects to set off traps by throwing them, whipping them, or dropping them into the path of the trap. Just be careful when using breakable objects, like vases and skulls, since you may only have one chance. Simply get near the ledge of the gap you’re looking to pass and hold Down and Square to drop the item you’re holding, which will toss it just in front of you.
Beyond setting off traps, these objects serve other uses, namely as weapons. Practice throwing objects to get a feel for how far they’ll fly, and you’ll end up with a supply of ranged weapons that can take out or at least stun dangerous enemies from afar. Stunned enemies can also double as objects for setting off traps, or you can toss them out of the way so they pose no danger to you.
Throw a torch to light the way–maybe you’ll spot Monty
Pick Up And Throw Vases
As noted above, vases are among the objects you can use to set off traps, but there’s an added layer to why you should always throw them rather than break them open with your whip. Vases can contain enemies, and breaking one open right in front of you can lead to you taking a cheap hit. By throwing vases, you can put some distance between you and any potential foes awaiting you inside.
That said, don’t just mindlessly throw vases down into areas you can’t reach and then return from. Vases will often include valuables, and you want to be able to collect those without having to waste a rope or bomb to escape from wherever the vase breaks open.
Be Mindful Of Your Whip
You’ll want to become well-acquainted with your whip because, while other objects and items can be used to take out foes (in addition to jumping on top of them), it’s your whip that you’ll be using the majority of the time. One aspect of it in particular that’s worth noting is that it also deals damage behind you. In a pinch, that can take out an enemy that’s approaching your rear.
But it’s important that you keep this in mind so that you don’t deal damage when you don’t intend to. If there’s a vase behind you, you may inadvertently break it with your whip, which means you might have to quickly react to an enemy appearing next to you.
Bring The Dog With You
In every level, you’ll be able to encounter your pet dog, Monty (or some alternative, if you choose another option in the Settings menu). Aside from looking intensely cute and stupid at the same time, he’s also a real life-saver: By carrying Monty to the exit of the stage you’re on, you’ll be rewarded with a kiss that restores one health. This can take you beyond the four health you’ll start with, so it’s always wise to get Monty to the end whenever possible.
While Monty is initially stationary, as soon as he’s “activated,” he’ll begin to run when you aren’t holding him. He can accidentally set off traps or other hazards that can kill him, so be aware of what he’s potentially going to encounter. He won’t jump up, so you can safely leave him in holes and other safe spots until you’re ready for him. In a pinch, Monty can also double as an object for setting off arrow traps as described above. He can actually survive an arrow hit, although taking enough damage will kill him, leaving you without the health boost and feeling deeply guilty.
You Can Ride The Turkeys
Some turkey-riding action in Spelunky 2
Among the new features in Spelunky 2 is the ability to ride on certain animals. Early on, the most common example is the turkey, which can be picked up and delivered to a pen in certain stages to gain access to a locked room. (Be careful not to attack turkeys in the pen, or the guy nearby will go shopkeeper on your ass–more on that below.) But far more entertaining is the option to ride on a turkey by jumping on its back.
Doing so will initially send the turkey sprinting around aimlessly, which can prove disastrous depending on where it takes you. But after a few seconds, you’ll see some hearts pop up and you’ll gain direct control of it. Turkeys can prove extremely useful as vehicles, as they can attack, double jump, and slowly drift downwards (just hold the X button during a fall).
As with Monty, you can use these animals to set off traps if you have to, and if they come into contact with fire, they can be cooked to produce an item that restores one health (and, again, makes you feel awful).
What Does The Gold Key Do?
You’re likely to happen upon a gold key in certain levels. While there may be other uses for it–Spelunky is notoriously filled with secrets, and we suspect it can be used to activate a drill device in the lava world–the most straightforward use for the key involves heading into one of the “background” rooms you’ll encounter in certain levels. The room in question is a small one with two sets of ladders and a locked chest at the top. Deliver the key to this and you’ll be rewarded with the Udjat Eye, an item that allows you to see where treasure and items are hidden. That can help you to make the most of your bombs.
Don’t Piss Off The Shopkeeper
You can and should explore the ways in which you can rob the shopkeeper, although you should be prepared that he won’t stand idly by–this isn’t a Zelda game where you can break into someone’s house and take anything located in a vase or crate. But as you first start learning the game, avoid attacking the shopkeeper or doing anything to remove an item from the store without first paying for it–that’s likely to get you killed.
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Overcooked: All You Can Eat, a remastered version of Overcooked and its sequel, is getting a number of new accessibility features when it launches later this year. Developer Ghost Town Games will give players the ability to lengthen recipe times, turn off order expiration, and other features to make the game as easy as they want it to be.
On top of the ability to adjust in-game difficulty, the remastered bundle will also include dyslexia friendly text, color-blind friendly chef indicators, and a scalable user interface. Overcooked publisher Team17 detailed these features on its official blog.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a remastered version of Overcooked 1 and 2, complete with a visual overhaul that supports 4k resolutions. It comes with all previously released downloadable content, like the Sun’s Out Buns Out DLC pack that launched in July. The remaster will also feature cross-play online multiplayer, new chefs, and new levels.
The bundle is launching later this year for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Bake ‘n Switch, an Overcooked-like baking game, may satisfy your hectic co-op needs in the meantime.
Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is set to make a new period comedy show for HBO Max. It has been reported that Waititi will produce and direct a show titled Our Flag Means Death for WarnerMedia’s streaming platform.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show is based on the life of a real-life man named Stede Bonnet, who in the 18th century was known as The Gentleman Pirate. Bonnet was a wealthy aristocrat on the island of Barbados, who gave up his privileged life to become a pirate. Waititi will produce Our Flag Means Death alongside showrunner David Jenkin, and direct the pilot episode.
In a statement, HBO Max head of originals Sarah Aubrey said, “A series concept like this jumps off the page and you can instantly envision every moment. David and Taika’s unique take on Bonnet’s rollicking misadventures on the high seas is sure to thrill and delight audiences everywhere.”
Waititi will start work on Our Flag Means Death once he has finished directing the Thor: Ragnarok sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder. The Marvel movie is currently scheduled to hit theatres in February 2022, and will star Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale.
The director is also developing two animated shows based on Roald Dahl’s classic book Charlie And The Chocolate Factory for Netflix. The first will reportedly be an adaptation of the book itself, while the second will focus on the Oompa-Loompas, the diminutive creatures who work in Willy Wonka’s factory.
Sadly, one Waititi project that is no longer happening is his adaptation of Akira. Waititi was the latest director to be attached to long-in-development live-action version of the manga classic, but in February admitted that he was now unlikely to make it.
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Further confirming that earlier COVID-19 fears that the widespread pandemic and resulting quarantine might signal the end of new TV may have been misaligned, Netflix has announced the cast and release date for Social Distance, a new anthology series. The eight-part, limited-run drama debuts on October 15 and, according to a release, “showcases the power of the human spirit in the face of uncertainty and isolation.”
The show is set in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been “conceived, cast, and executed entirely remotely during quarantine.” Social Distance consists of standalone episodes “told through a virtual lens and captures the unique emotional experience of being forced apart by circumstance and having no choice but to communicate remotely and rely on technology to maintain any sense of connection.” The idea being, in other words, to explore the ways that although many of us have entered quarantine, our individual experience of that change and learning to still stay connected has been distinct, unique, and ongoing.
Social Distance is created and executive produced by showrunner Hilary Weisman Graham and executive-produced by Tara Herrmann, Blake McCormick, and Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black, Weeds). The expansive cast includes Oscar Nunez (The Office), Marsha Stephanie Blake (When They See Us) with real-life daughter Rocco Luna, and Steven Weber (Get Shorty, Drunk History) with real-life son Jack Hohnen-Weber.
Alongside HBO’s Coastal Elites, which premiered on September 12 and features a similar conceit with actors Dan Levy, Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, and Issae Rae navigating life during the pandemic, it seems like we will indeed be able to continue to get new TV during the pandemic. But it also looks like, for better or worse, we will not be able to escape thinking about it.
Fortnite’s Week 4 challenges are going to send you on more bot-hunting quests. Two challenges this week pit you up against Gatherers, floating bots that spawn randomly throughout the map. One challenge tasks you with destroying Gatherers while a second one needs you to deal damage with a Gatherer’s remains. This guide will show you how to find Gatherers, how to destroy them, and then how to use them as a weapon.
These two challenges leaked early; check back on Thursday to see them live in Fortnite.
What Are Fortnite’s Gatherers?
Fortnite Season 4 Gorger
There are two types of floating robots that you’ll encounter this season. The first is a large one called a Gorger shown in the image above. These bots spawn somewhere on the map and can be located by finding a large red beam that is shooting directly up. Head towards the beam to find a Gorger.
These Gorgers spawn smaller robots called Gatherers. Both robots will shoot beams of energy at you, although the Gorger’s weapons are far stronger and will take you out if you’re not careful. The Gorger will continue to spawn Gatherers until it’s destroyed. You should let it spit out twenty of the smaller robots before destroying it so you can complete the challenge.
Gatherers will fall to the ground for a few seconds after you eliminate them. You’ll need to pick one up quickly in order to complete the second challenge, deal damage with a Gatherer’s remains, before it explodes. One good strategy is to use Gatherer remains to fight the Gorger in order to deal the 10,000 points of damage required to complete the challenge. Luckily Gorgers are tanks with a ton of health, although you can deal damage to other bots and players too.
During its September 2020 event, Apple announced a brand-new subscription service called Apple One that bundles many of the company’s services like Arcade and Music into one monthly price.
For $15 a month, you get Apple Arcade, Music, TV+, and 50GB of iCloud storage in what is called the Individual plan. This is the starting plan, but there are three in total. Along with Apple One Individual, there’s also Family for $20 and Premier for $30. Apple One Family packages the same services as Individual but includes 200GB of iCloud storage and the ability to share the subscription with up to six family members. Meanwhile, Apple One Premier–as its name suggests–bundles all of Apple’s premier services together, including the newly revealed Fitness+ and News+, as well as 1TB of iCloud storage and the ability to share the plan with up to six family members.
Apple One will start rolling out this fall, with a 30-day free trial available for anyone who isn’t already subscribed to a service. The Individual and Family plans will be available in over 100 countries and regions, while the Premier subscription is only available in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.
Apple Arcade has mostly flown under the radar since its launch in September 2019. The latest news on the service was Apple’s decision to cancel Arcade games in June 2020. According to Bloomberg, Apple wants to keep developers who meet the company’s stringent “engagement” criteria. As such, some studios who didn’t meet these requirements have had their contracts scrapped.
One of the most prominent games on Apple Arcade is Grindstone, a bloody puzzle-adventure developed and published by Below creators Capybara Games. The studio announced that Grindstone will hit Nintendo Switch this fall with every update that’s been released for the game on Arcade so far.
Apple also announced two new iPads and two additional Watches during its September 2020 event. The company also confirmed that all of its software updates–including iOS 14, macOS Big Sur, and others–will launch on September 16.
Fortnite’s Week 4 challenges will put you in lots of big gunfights at Marvel locations. One challenge tasks you with hacking five robots at Stark Industries. This guide will show you the best way to hack five robots and complete the challenge with ease.
These challenges leaked early; check back on Thursday to see them live in Fortnite.
How Do I Hack Robots At Stark Industries?
Stark Robots are one of the many computer-controlled characters that roam the Fortnite map in Season 4. You can also find them at the Quinjet locations, but you’ll need to head to the Stark Industries location that replaced Frenzy Farms last week in order to complete this challenge.
Fortnite Week 4 Hacking Stark Robots Hangar Location
Once you land there, head to the hangar on the right side of the compound in the F4 tile on the map. Stark Industries is a hectic landing spot–an Iron Man bot is located there with legendary weapons, so everyone drops there. Head to the hangar first to avoid some of the initial fighting.
Once there you’ll find several Stark Robots patrolling the area. Take them out, but don’t eliminate them. Once they’re knocked to the ground you can follow the button prompts to hack them and they’ll fight alongside you. You need to do this to 5 robots at Stark Industries in order to complete the challenge. You can only have three robots hacked at the same time, though.
Fortnite Week 4 Hacking Stark Robots
What Do I Get For Completing The Challenge?
Hacking 5 robots will earn you another 25,000 experience points towards unlocking Groot, Storm, and other heroes in the battle pass. Be sure to check out our guide on how to destroy twenty Gatherers and use their remains to deal damage. Remember to complete your weekly Wolverine challenges too.
Epic Games announced on Twitter that the next artists to hold a Fortnite concert are Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals. The performance will take place live on September 19 at 5 PM ET and will be played again on September 19 at 11 PM ET and September 20 at 1 PM ET.
Travis Scott’s virtual performance in Fortnite was a remarked success, and it makes sense that the battle-royale game will continue to partner with artists to hold in-game concerts, especially since COVID-19 has made real-life concerts impossible for the foreseeable future. A staggering amount of people–12.3 million, to be exact–logged into the game at the same time to watch Travis Scott’s performance. A free Astroworld Cyclone glider and two free loading screens was also given to anybody who attended the concert, and it remains to be seen if Fortnite will offer similar perks for Anderson .Paak’s concert attendees.
To watch Anderson .Paak’s performance, Fortnite players can jump into Party Royale. To do so, you can press the Change box in the Lobby screen’s bottom-right corner, and select the Party Royale mode from the available options. After the selection, you’ll be back at the Lobby screen. Press play and go to the Main Stage for the performance. The map button in Party Royale can help you orient yourself and locate the Main Stage.
The concert will be available for Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC players. Due to the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and Epic, iOS and macOS owners will not be able to watch Anderson Paak’s performance. (If you want to know the latest on the strife between the two companies, check out our guide to Apple and Epic’s legal battles.)
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Writer-director Kat Coiro is in talks with Marvel and is, according to Deadline, currently in negotiations to direct the pilot and several subsequent episodes of Marvels’ She-Hulk series for Disney+. Coiro (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) will executive produce on the upcoming series.
Marvel has not yet released a statement, but Rick and Morty’s Jessica Gao will reportedly be leading the writers room. Gao wrote the famous Pickle Rick episode, and has also contributed to Comedy Central’s Corporate and HBO’s Silicon Valley.
She-Hulk, one of the last original characters co-created by the prolific Stan Lee at Marvel, differs from her male-cousin counterpart in that when Jennifer Walters “Hulks out,” she maintains her original intelligence and personality, while of course gaining considerable strength.
Casting choices have not yet been revealed–there aren’t even rumors yet–but there have been hints that Mark Ruffalo is open to the possibility of reprising his role. Speaking with Variety earlier this year, Ruffalo said, “There’s some talk of having Banner/Hulk show up in She-Hulk. If we come up with something good, that would be really interesting. Right now that’s about it. That’s all there is on the table.”
It’d be reasonable to expect some sizable delays before further and additional concrete information about the show surfaces. In addition to coronavirus-related complications on production, Marvel is currently a little backed up: Projects including The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Eternals, and the super-weird WandaVision have all been delayed. There’s not likely to be any new major Marvel releases for the rest of the year.
Coiro’s next film, Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, and Sarah Silverman is due out Valentine’s Day 2021.
