Destiny 2‘s first Valentine’s Day-themed event is officially live. Following a period of server downtime, Bungie has launched a new update that marks the start of the Crimson Days event on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Among other things, that means there are new rewards to now get your hands on.
As outlined recently, Crimson Days centers around a new 2v2 Crucible mode. You can join up solo or with a friend, but either way, you’re strongly encouraged to stay physically close to your partner. Doing so causes your abilities to recharge more quickly than usual, while straying far apart will provide the enemy team with waypoints directing them to your location.
Taking part in the Crimson Days playlist is described as the “best” way to earn rewards, though it isn’t the only path. Most of the new items are found in the Crimson Engram, which is guaranteed to not decrypt into any duplicates until you’ve gotten everything it contains. In addition to earning them through the Crucible mode, you’ll receive a Crimson Engram (as well as the usual Illuminated Engram) each time you level up, provided you’ve hit the level cap. You’ll also get one just by logging in and speaking with Tess at The Tower.
Among the items you’ll find in the Crimson Engram are weapon ornaments, Sparrows, Ghosts, and shaders. There are also five other rewards that are each obtained by completing a specific objective. Here’s how Bungie describes those:
Complete the milestone “Welcome to Crimson Days” by finishing five Crimson Days matches and visiting Lord Shaxx in the Tower to earn the Fire of the Crimson Days Emblem and the Tirastrella Ghost Shell.
Complete matches in the Crimson Days Crucible playlist for a chance to earn the Undeterred Exotic Sparrow.
Complete either the Leviathan Raid or the Raid Lair: Eater of Worlds to claim the Dieselpunk Exotic Ornament for Wardcliff Coil from the final chest.
Complete the Nightfall Strike during the Crimson Days event to earn the Flaunting Dance Emote.
Crimson Engrams are handed out only by playing–they can’t be purchased. However, some of the included items will be sold for Bright Dust through the Eververse store. Crimson Days items you obtain can be broken down for Bright Dust, so it’s possible you can recycle those into something you do want.
Additionally, this event’s launch coincides with the release of update 1.1.2.1. This relatively minor update ditches throttles in Lost Sectors and makes it so that you can only open a Lost Sector chest once per boss kill.
All of this is available now and runs until the weekly reset on February 20. Beyond that, many more updates are on the way to Destiny 2, including major changes to Nightfalls.
There’s a wide selection of VR headsets out on the market, which can make it difficult to parse which one is right for you with varied pricing and spec information. That’s why we’ve compiled comprehensive lists below that break down resolution, refresh rate, and other specs across all the major VR headsets. We’ve separated our lists by four categories: major VR headsets, Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets, mobile VR headsets, and all-in-one mobile solutions that don’t require external hardware.
Xbox One controller, Oculus remote, and Oculus Touch controllers
DualShock 4, PlayStation Move, Aim Controller
Vive controller, Pimax controller
TBD
Store compatibility
SteamVR, HTC Viveport
SteamVR, HTC Viveport
SteamVR, Oculus Store
PlayStation Store
SteamVR
SteamVR
Release date
April 5, 2016
TBA
March 28, 2016
October 13, 2016
Q2 2018
TBA
Launch Price
US$799/£769.99
TBA
$599.99
$399, €399, £349, A$549
$799
TBA
Current Price
$599
NA
$399
$350
NA
NA
Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
Windows Mixed Reality headsets are VR headsets specced out by Microsoft and manufactured by several PC OEMs. One major feature that distinguishes them is that they all feature external cameras that enable inside-out tracking of both the headset and controllers. This means you can get six degrees of positional movement without the use of external sensors.
Modern Android and iPhones between 4.7 and 5.5 inches
Controllers
Handheld controller
Bluetooth controller
Bluetooth wireless controllers
Store compatibility
Oculus Store, Gear VR
Google Play Store
SteamVR, Google Play, Apple Store
Release date
November 27, 2015
November 10, 2016
May 2018
Launch Price
$99.99
$79 (first gen)/$89 (second gen)
$150 (with controllers)
Current Price
$99.99
$79 (first gen)/$89 (second gen)
NA
All-in-one VR headsets
All-in-one VR headsets are mobile VR headsets that don’t require a smartphone. This means they feature built-in processors, RAM, and batteries.
Oculus Go is an example of an all-in-one VR headset.
Oculus Go
Oculus Santa Cruz
Pico Neo
Lenovo Mirage Solo Daydream
Resolution
2560×1440
TBD
2880×1600 (1440×1600 resolution per eye)
2560×1440
Refresh rate
TBD
TBD
90Hz
TBD
Display type
LCD, “fast switch”
TBD
TBD
5.5-inch display
Field of view
About 110 degrees
TBD
TBD
About 110 degrees
Processor
Snapdragon 821
TBA mobile processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with 4GB of RAM
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 with 4GB of RAM
Built-in storage
32GB
TBD
SD card support up to 128GB
64GB + MicroSD card slot
Battery size
TBD
TBD
TBD
4,000 mAh
Tracking System
Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
Seven sensors + Constellation
6DoF tracking
WorldSense’s inside-out positional tracking
Room scale support
No
Yes
TBD
TBD
Weight
TBD
TBD
TBD
644.1g
Integrated Headphones
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Built-in Mic
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Controllers
Wireless remote
Wireless tracked controllers
6DoF wireless hand controllers
Wireless Daydream controller
Store compatibility
Oculus Store, Gear VR
Oculus Store
TBD
TBD
Release date
Early 2018
TBD
TBD
Spring 2018
Launch Price
$199
TBD
$749
TBD
Current Price
NA
NA
NA
NA
With so many VR specs to parse, we’ve highlighted some interesting tidbits below:
Which VR head-mounted display (HMD) has the sharpest resolution screen? Currently, the Samsung Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset offers the highest resolution with a 2880×1600 panel. The forthcoming HTC Vive Pro will also use the same resolution, but the Pimax 8K headset, set to release later this year, will feature two 3840x2160p panels.
Which VR headset offers the widest field-of-view? Most of the VR headsets currently out on the market feature FOVs around 100 to 110 degrees. It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact degree because your FOV will vary depending how close your eyes get to the lenses. Pimax’s 8K headset is advertising a 200 degree FOV when it releases.
Which headset has the highest refresh rate?PlayStation VR‘s panel is capable of reaching 120Hz, whereas most other VR headsets refresh at 90Hz.
Why does a high refresh rate matter for VR? While most monitors use a 60Hz refresh rate, research thus far dictates that 90Hz or higher is desired for a smooth VR experience that mitigates judder and motion sickness.
What is the difference between an OLED and LCD screen? OLED screens feature individually lit pixels, which allow them to reach deeper black levels than LCD equivalents.
Which VR headset is the lightest? If you’re counting mobile VR headsets, then Google’s Daydream View is currently the lightest, weighing 261 grams without a phone. On the desktop side, Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality headset is the lightest at 350 grams.
Which VR headset is the heaviest? HP’s Mixed Reality headset is the heaviest at 834 grams.
Which VR headset is the cheapest? The first-generation Google Daydream headset is the cheapest at $79. If you’re not including mobile VR HMDs then it’s Sony’s PSVR at $350.
Which VR headset is the most expensive? The HTC Vive is currently the most expensive VR headset at $599.
What is room scale VR? Unlike seated or standing experiences, room scale tracking allows you to walk around your tracked physical environment, which can bolster your VR experience.
What VR headsets are capable of room scale VR? The HTC Vive was the first VR system to support room scale right out of the box right. The Oculus Rift also supports room scale, but requires the purchase of a third optional sensor. Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality headsets support room scale. Forthcoming headsets that will support room scale include the HTC Vive Pro, Pimax, LG VR headset, and Oculus Santa Cruz.
Can the Oculus Rift play SteamVR games? Yes. Not all, but the majority of SteamVR games support the Oculus Rift.
Can the HTC Vive play games on the Oculus store? Kind of. It requires a third-party mod called Revive and the quality can vary from game to game.
What are the VR system requirements for the Oculus Rift?
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 processor equivalent or greater
8GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2 USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer
What are the VR system requirements for the HTC Vive?
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 processor equivalent or greater
4GB+ RAM
One HDMI 1.4 or one DisplayPort 1.2
One USB 2.0
Windows 7 SP1 or newer
What are the VR system requirements for Windows Mixed Reality headsets?
Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 620 (GT2) equivalent or greater DX12 API Capable GPU
Intel Mobile Core i5 (e.g. 7200U) Dual-Core with Hyperthreading equivalent
8GB+ Dual Channel required for integrated Graphics
HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 90Hz head-mounted displays
USB 3.0 Type-A or USB 3.1 Type-C Port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode
Will PlayStation VR games look or perform better with the PlayStation 4 Pro? In games that are optimized to take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s extra processing power, users can experience a crisper image via supersampling, improved graphics, or sometimes both.
The winners of this year’s Writers Guild of America awards have been announced, rewarding movies, video games and TV categories for their writing.
Guerilla Games’ Horizon: Zero Dawn won the WGA for best video game writing, beating Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Madden NFL 18: Longshot, and Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow.
When it came to TV and film, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale won both the Best Drama and New Series categories. Veep won Best Comedy Series, and Bojack Horseman’s “Time’s Arrow” episode won in the Animation category. Jordan Peele’s Get Out won the award for Best Original Screenplay.
“As writers who care deeply about the craft of telling stories, it’s incredibly exciting for us to be receiving this award in the company of so many other writers whose work we admire and appreciate,” said narrative director, John Gonzalez, who accepted the award on behalf of Guerilla Games along with lead writer Benjamin McCaw, reports GamesIndustry.biz.
Ubisoft is “concentrating at the moment” on Assassin’s Creed: Origins, rather than a new entry in the once-annual franchise.
Replying to an earnings call question asking if the series would return to a new-game-a-year release schedule, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said:
“We are concentrating at the moment on AC:O, for which we are going to launch a few other DLCs. So you will be amazed by what will come on AC:O. That’s the only thing we can say now.”
Guillemot went into some depth about the success of Origins, explaining that it is “is on track to almost double players’ playtime versus prior Assassin’s Creed titles”. Ubisoft Executive Director Alain Corre called it “the successful comeback of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.”
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Bluetooth – the great unifier. Back in the 90s the Bluetooth protocol was created so different electronics could talk wirelessly to one another. It’s named after a tenth-century king, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson, who unified a bunch of Danish tribes into a kingdom and no, that is not a joke. And it does precisely what its namesake did, but with electronics instead of tribes. Using the Bluetooth standard electronics such as computers, phones, speakers, PlayStation controllers, light bulbs, cars, and of course, earbuds can communicate.
Netflix has announced another surprise reveal, and this one is a new Chris Rock stand-up special called Tamborine.
The comedian’s first stand-up special in ten years, in which he covers the gamut of contemporary issues, premieres on Netflix tomorrow, February 14. Chris Rock: Tamborine is directed by Bo Burnham and filmed at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Rock posted a short video announcement on Twitter, which you can watch below:
Dragon Ball FighterZ released a little over two weeks ago, and quickly became the most-played fighting game in Steam’s history, with 44.3k active players at launch. Since then, however, the player base has quickly plummeted, dropping by 80%.
GitHyp reports that the concurrent player count for the last weekend was just over 9,000 on Steam, meaning that 80% of the PC player base dropped off in two weeks post-launch.
By comparison, the previous Steam record holder, Tekken 7 – which amassed 18.k players on Steam at launch – lost the same percentage of players over the course of two months.
Bandai Namco’s future plans include “aggressively” creating new and original IP.
In the company’s Q3 financial report it announced the creation of a new “IP Creation Unit”, which will sit alongside divisions for toys, videos and music, amusement, and games. The unit will “invest aggressively in IP creations,” and won’t just focus on video games.
To facilitate the creation of new IP, Bandai Namco is investing 25 billion yen (approximately $232 million USD) over the next three years “on top of its normal investments”.
The upcoming Code Vein is the company’s next new IP – and it sounds like it’s just the beginning. The company is also currently rumoured to be working on Ridge Racer 8 and Metroid Prime 4 for Switch.
Koei Tecmo and Omega Force’s 21-year-old Dynasty Warriors series has never been a series known to step outside its comfort zone, but Dynasty Warriors 9 is not your typical Dynasty Warriors game. For the first time, the developers have retired the tried-and-true segmented mission structure in favor of a large, open-world map with missions, points of interest, and random activities scattered sparsely about. But if this is the vision of what a modern Dynasty Warriors game is, then I’d prefer a flashback to the series’ more focused and co-op friendly past instead.
Combat in Dynasty Warriors 9 is its simplest joy, and at its height it’s like a ballet of beautiful, high-flying violence. I’ve shot tornadoes out of swords that wrecked an entire battlefield, juggling dozens of enemies in the air. I’ve rained ice and fire from the sky with the point of my finger. I’ve even created a vortex of electric storms that erupted all around me during a flurry of sword slashes. The shouts of enemies in agony, my allies supporting me, and the sounds of my attacks rampaging through the battlefield meld together with the rocking soundtrack.
