VentureBeat interviewed Casey Hudson about Anthem.

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GamesBeat: I don’t know if they were joking, but some people seem to want more romance in the game.

Hudson: I think the expectations from a BioWare game—Mass Effect and Dragon Age, they’re quite mature-rated storylines, things like that. That was one framework for what romances were in a BioWare game. So then the question is, are there going to be romances in Anthem? We’ve been saying no, but—the nuance is, of course we do want relationships. It’s just more in an action genre of storytelling.

Of course, like with other games, we just want to see how people respond to that, and then we can build more. You might remember, with Mass Effect, Garrus was an alien that, as we developed the story—he was a kind of birdlike concept art that we eventually pulled together and shipped that game. But we didn’t know what he would really be like and what the reaction would be. It turned out that people loved Garrus so much that they wanted romances with him, so we built that into Mass Effect 2 and people loved it. That same opportunity exists here. If people really like a character and they want to spend more time with them, want a relationship with them, that’s definitely in the cards for the future.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Realms Beyond has shown off its combat alpha with a gameplay video.

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Ambush in the Forest A battle taken from the alpha version of our combat system. While traveling through woodlands on the worldmap, the player's party has been ambushed by a group of orcs and trolls Reminder: Particularly the user Interface, sounds, FXs and animations are still work in progress. https://www.realms-beyond.com

Some previews for Cyberpunk 2077.

Gamingbolt

And that’s only a taste of Cyberpunk 2077. There wasn’t a moment in this edge-of-your-seat thriller where fatigue sets it. Every second I had my eyes wide open, ready for more. Every scene is filled with attention to detail that you’d only notice in a real life setting. Not only was the engaging story, gameplay mechanics, and lively world impressive, Cyberpunk 2077 is easily my best game of E3 2018.

Wccftech

The cool stat! For example, it’s going to unlock certain things that you might not have been able to do, certain options when dealing with situations. Or, another example, the vendors that you have, the ripperdocs, if you have that cool and street cred level, they might bring down certain weapon prices or unlock certain weapons you might not have had there. So it is an integral part of it. It’s also a throwback to the original tabletop game as well. So we are thinking of—forgive me for saying this—cool ways to use it. It’s going to be an important thing for sure. It’s definitely a way to help interact with people.

[...]

Worthplaying

Cyberpunk 2077 has roots that date back to the tabletop game Cyberpunk 2020 from the late 1980s, so this universe of ideas has been swirling around for a long time. Seeing how CDPR has given life to these ideas and packaged them together in one experience (we haven't even gotten into how Night City has six different districts), makes Cyberpunk 2077 an event release — whenever it comes out.

Thanks Farflame!

StarCrawlers has received a substantial content update that was originally intended as DLC.

StarCrawlers v1.1 - Hotwire Update

Hotwire Hotfix 1 Deployed! Details inside...

The Hotwire Update is live and it's FREE. Originally intended as DLC, we've reworked and integrated all of the content from Hotwire into the base StarCrawlers game as a free update for all players. Here's what's inside:

Hacking

• Hacking is now a fully developed and separate system that works alongside the base game.
• Datajacks will now spawn on randomized missions allowing access to the virtual Wire network which connects all of the systems of the map you're on.
• Using your Deck, jack in and ride the Wire to encounter 35+ new enemies and discover 25+ new abilities exclusive to hacking.
• The Hackshop in STIX sells Programs and Utilities to beef up your Deck and tackle the toughest denizens of the Wire.
• Enemy programs guard the Wire and change depending on the type of network, security rating of their nodes, and other factors to give a different feel to each network you hack.
• New hacking element types (Security, Corruption, and Deception) each have their own enemies and program types for you to unlock and use both in hacking combat and when interacting with nodes.
• Nodes in the network control security doors, alert levels, contain loot data, and more. Hack your way to the Core and crash it to bring the system down and stick to the megacorps.
• Now that hacking is live, more hacking specific content is in the works (and will arrive Sooner^TM)!

Additional Patch Notes for v1.0.4

Tip Jar

• We'll be supporting ongoing development of StarCrawlers with free updates and content patches by adding a Tip Jar button to the title screen. If you enjoy the Hotwire Update and want to see more of it (and new stuff!), please consider showing your support with a $1 tip!
• Tipping confers no in-game advantage and never will (but we'll think you're really cool) and amount may vary in your local currency as determined by Steam.
• If the Tip Jar bothers you, simply click the Hide Tip Jar button and you'll never see it again.

Story

• Fixed a plot hole that could allow a certain character to randomly appear on the final mission (despite your refusal to work with them earlier in the story).
• Firing the Prototype allows it to be rehired from the STIX bar - possibly. It may wander off and do its own thing if it feels like it.

Smuggler

• Sped up animation of Showdown crosses on target when stacks are greater than 3.

Linux

• Unsupported resolutions checks are no longer ignored on Linux as a workaround - as such, you may need to adjust your resolution and reset your preferences if you are playing on Linux with a non-3:4 display.
• If you encounter issues with your resolution on Linux - please let me know your distro and native resolution in the forums so I can support as many as possible.
• Double typing on text entry is still a known issue - Unity has not patched it. Investigation continues!

Other notes

• Fixed additional elusive typos.
• Minor bug fixes and QOL improvements.
• Known issue (non fatal) with event entering hackshop for the first time that can cause a sentence be skipped.

DSOGaming reports that Valkyria Chronicles 4 will release September 25th.

SEGA has announced that Valkyria Chronicles 4 will release on September 25th. The PC version of Valkyria Chronicles 4 will support 4K resolutions, customisable keyboard and mouse controls, as well as ultra-widescreen monitors.

[...]

@Twinfinite The Surge 2 will have online features that will let you influence other players experiences.

According to Jan Klose, the creative director for The Surge 2 at Deck13, the game will have online features that let you influence other players games. During our interview, Klose told us “We really do love multiplayer gaming, and right now we have planned lots of online features there. There’s no synchronous co-op or multiplayer gameplay planned right now, but so far we’re starting with some online features where you can influence other gamer’s experience in a way. So this will definitely be there, and the other stuff has to be seen maybe further in the future. But we’re looking into that stuff very much.”

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Gameplay for Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden was shown off at E3.

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Get an all new look from the developers of Mutant Year Zero, coming later this year.

Thanks Farflame!

Venturebeat explored Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and asked some questions.

Odyssey will give you plenty of choices about how you will approach your specific adventure. You can play as either Alexios or Kassandra, you can romance a huge number of characters, and you can approach missions however you want.

In the clip below from my play session, you can see some of how this works. In this video, I took a mission from Socrates to go free a radical freedom fighter. I went in and killed all of the guards to let him go free, but when he lashed out wildly at me, I killed him, too. When I went back to talk to Socrates, the conversation reflected those gameplay choices. But had I avoided killing the guards and/or the radical, that discussion would have played out differently … and the results of those actions could have had consequences on other parts of the game.

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[...]

GamesBeat: This is an RPG, so did you ever consider letting people make their own characters?

Scott Phillips: That’s where the balance of Assassin’s Creed versus an Assassin’s Creed RPG comes in. We wanted to tell a story, but we wanted to give you as much freedom as possible within that story. It’s a narrative. It’s going to be different for every player, but the core of that is going to be the same, because that’s part of what Assassin’s Creed is. That’s the DNA of Assassin’s Creed. But we wanted to take that in our own direction by making you — allowing you to choose a lot of different things, small and large, that have an overall impact on that story.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

The Sequel to Anima: Gate of Memories, The Nameless Chronicles, has been released today.

Anima: Gate of Memories - The Nameless Chronicles is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Madrid, Spain, June 19th, 2018:  Today, the long-awaited sequel to the indie jewel Anima: Gate of Memories has been released in digital format. The Nameless Chronicles is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC; the Nintendo Switch version, which shares every detail of the versions already launched (including a stable 60fps framerate), will be available on Nintendo eShop on June 29th.

The Nameless Chronicles takes us back to the events that gave birth to the first Anima, but from the standpoint of the enemy side. We will put ourselves in the role of The Nameless, an immortal who has been assuming different identities throughout history, and his quest to find a meaning to his eternal existence. In The Nameless Chronicles we will accompany him on a journey in which his past lives will be interwoven with a war in the shadows in which the fate of the world will be at stake.

Like Anima: Gate of Memories, this new installment is an Action RPG packed with spectacular attacks and memorable bosses, which mixes elements inherited from traditional table top RPG with a gameplay reminiscent of hack & slash classics like Devil May Cry and Nier: Automata. Action, exploration and evolution of the character through experience points are some of the mechanics included in its gameplay.

This new Anima is an adventure completely independent of the original game, although there will be no lack of elements, characters and winks that only those who have played the first instalment of the saga will recognize.

With an epic soundtrack created by Sonotrigger Studios and stunning visuals that, like on the first installment, blends cel-shading graphics with realistic 3D environments, The Nameless Chronicles has it all to become the Action RPG indie game of the year

If you haven't already had the chance to enter the world of Anima, Anima: Arcane Edition, which includes both installments in a single bundle, is also on sale in addition to The Nameless Chronicles. And if your preferred platform is Steam, you can take advantage of a series of launch discounts and get both titles at an irresistible price

You can get Grid Cartographer 4 on Steam now:

Grid Cartographer 4 is now available on Steam with a 10% launch discount.

I've put years of work into this project and I hope you enjoy using it. If you have any questions or feature requests, please stop by the discussion forum.

Grid Cartographer 4 is a powerful map creation and design tool, with many features:

• Square, Hexagon and Tile-map Grid Types.
• Unlimited floor area with named floors and multiple tabbed 'regions'.
• Quick brush selection with a popup overlay.
• Standard editing tools such as undo, redo and cut, copy and paste.
• Range of selection tools including marquee, paint and wand.
• Simple text labelling and a quick note system.
• Fog-of-war overlays in several different styles.
• Map themes including blueprint, phosphor and parchment styles.
• Scripting system for exporting to proprietary data formats.
• 3D view mode for first-person visualisation.
• Avatar cursor to help track your movements as you explore a map.
• Export maps to PNG with powerful filtering options to create a 'player map'.
• Export maps to OBJ mesh or XML for use with Unity and Unreal Engine.
• Interactive wall levers and treasure chests.
• Custom marker and terrain tile art import.
• Flexible grid setup for limited areas or infinite planes.

Capsella The Lights of Lucern is an action RPG releasing on Steam early access 22nd June.

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About This Game

Capsella The Lights of Lucern is an action RPG that takes place in Galad, a mysterious and magical universe.
Four heroes were chosen by the goddess to hold the Capsella, an artifact that is capable of dispelling the darkness cast on the Link Crystals that is breaking the balance between light and darkness.
The heroes will face multiple dangers across the land to dispel the Crystals and find out who is behind the attacks.
Featuring a local multiplayer cooperative with four unique heroes, explore the dimension of Lucern in an top down action driven adventure!
You can play as Ambar, Aran, Laurina and Lucas! Each with an unique set of technics and gameplay style!
Ambar is a powerful mage that can cast powerful spells!
Aran is a mighty brawler that can unleash swings with his two handed sword!
Laurina is a swift and skilled archer!
Lucas is a fierce swordsman that can take a blow and protect the group!
Fight enemies, earn experience to gain levels and unlock new technics! Get stronger by upgrading your equipment and use elemental properties to be more effective and defeat your enemies!

Titan Outpost is an isometric, single-player RPG set on Titan. The latest update shows off some screenshots and reports that all core systems are in place and ready for testing.

Features

Titan Outpost is an isometric, single-player role-playing game set on Titan, the sixth moon of the planet Saturn. Humanity is engulfed in an energy crisis and you are there to harvest the moon's precious resources and uncover its mysteries.

There is no combat in the game. Titan itself is your biggest enemy and your character will need to use a variety of skills to handle missions. In an atmosphere so uninvitingly cold that methane is a liquid, every choice matters and every step counts.

• The PICA character system features four attributes -Physical, Intelligence, Charisma and Awarenss- and six skills, ranging from science to exploration.
• Branching storylines and multiple quest solutions.
• Discrete time system, where every passing second determines unfolding events and the game world continues while your character sleeps. The game would be considered turn-based if it had combat.
• Logistical elements , think original Dune adventure meets the strategic layer of X-com.
• A rich backstory with a combination of realistic science-fiction and cold war tension.
• Over twenty locations, a hundred if you count all the lakes.
• Build and expand your base, it's not called Titan Outpost for nothing.
• Research exciting new technologies, ranging from new ways to keep warm, generating more power or making Titan ever so slightly more like Earth.
• Multiple factions: You can decide to join the Chinese, work for independent contractors or stay loyal to your employer.
• 70s aesthetic.

Ancient Frontier: Steel Shadows has been announced for summer 2018.

About This Game

A new chapter in the world of Ancient Frontier!

Steel Shadows is a standalone RPG set in the epic universe of Ancient Frontier. You do NOT need to own or have played Ancient Frontier to enjoy this content. Take command of a rag tag band of pirates and outlaws as you fight your way across the Frontier for treasure and glory. Delve into our latest turn based tactical RPG.

You play as Rogan Harker, a recently freed convict. He travels to the Frontier to find old friends and start a new life. But the overpowering Federation still controls most of the Frontier, and the new and budding Alliance is no fan of outlaws. Hated and feared, the pirate life is one of constant danger. Friends and allies are hard to find and harder still to keep. Beset on all sides can Rogan find fame and fortune with his fledgling pirate fleet?

FEATURES

• A full campaign with over 20 story missions
• Over 50 procedurally generated side missions
• Dynamic initiative based turn based combat
• Purchase, outfit and control the unique Pirate faction ships
• Hire and assign crew members that gain experience and power along with your ships
• Hidden unique mercenaries and ships to add to your fleet
• Experience over 50 random events
• Customize your play style by unlocking technologies in an extensive Tech Tree
• Large, detailed space maps to fight across
• Three different strategic resources to manage
• Dozens of different weapon systems and abilities to control
• Includes both free DLCs; Ancient Frontier - The Crew and Ancient Froniter - Quests and Events

Will you survive the frontier?

Update 1.1 Beta for BattleTech is now available.

Last month we talked about what's next for BATTLETECH, and outlined some key items we were working on for our first larger free Update to the game. Well - we've just pushed that Update 1.1.0 to the public_beta branch on Steam and GOG. This Update is all about giving you more ways to customize your experience, as well as reacting to common pieces of feedback that we've heard from you about the game. It also includes a healthy dose of optimizations and general bugfixes across all areas of BATTLETECH.

We're pleased to report that most of the items we mentioned last month made it into this 1.1.0 release. One thing that didn't is the "Tutorial Skip" feature, but that's still on the roadmap for our next Update. Many more things DID make it in beyond what we mentioned last month, though, like ultrawide monitor support and some additional quality-of-life improvements. The full release notes are below.

We would like to encourage interested players to switch to public_beta right away and start playing BATTLETECH 1.1.0. Instructions for switching to public_beta can be found below. And if you do try this release, we'd really appreciate it if you could also take a few minutes to report back directly in this thread with your impressions, and to let us know if you encounter any issues. This will help us test at a broader scale before pushing this Update to the live branch. Thank you in advance!

-- HBS

[...]

New Features & Content

MechWarrior customization. Players can now customize the appearance, callsign, name, pronoun, and voice of all non-Ronin MechWarriors in their mercenary company. The starting MechWarriors (Behemoth, Dekker, Glitch, and Medusa) are now considered Ronin.

Granular difficulty settings. Added a wide variety of Granular Difficulty Settings that can be adjusted at any time from the Settings menu.

• Lethality - when enabled, MechWarriors that are disabled in combat will always be killed.
• 'Mech Destruction - when enabled, 'Mechs disabled from Center Torso destruction are permanently lost. This setting is intended for veterans and those seeking a significant challenge.
• No Rare Salvage - when enabled, + and ++ items are no longer generated as salvage results (but remain purchasable in stores).
• MechWarrior Progression - adjust the amount of experience that MechWarriors gain after each mission.
• Advanced MechWarriors - increase or decrease the frequency of more powerful MechWarriors appearing in Hiring Halls in later parts of the game.
• Enemy Force Strength - increase or decrease the baseline strength of the enemy forces you'll face in procedural contracts.
• Contract Payment - increase or decrease the amount of C-Bills paid by procedural contracts across the game.
• Salvage - increase or decrease the amount of salvage you may obtain from negotiation on procedural contracts.

New custom campaign mode. The following added Difficulty Settings can only be adjusted when starting a new campaign (Select "Custom Campaign" when starting a New Game from the Main Menu.)

• Ironman Mode. Your campaign is limited to a single save game slot that automatically updates as you progress. Run out of funds or fail a Priority Mission and it's game over!
• Unequipped 'Mechs - enable this to make 'Mechs completed out of 'Mech parts start empty instead of with a stock loadout.
• Parts for 'Mech Assembly - increase the number of 'Mech parts that must be salvaged to assemble a new 'Mech. This setting is intended for veterans and those seeking a significant challenge.

Accelerate the current action with SPACEBAR. Players can now press SPACEBAR to greatly accelerate the current action. Game speed will return to normal after the action completes.

[...]

PC Gamer tried Rune and had fun throwing limbs and other objects at enemies.

I'm not sure if it says something about me or the kinds of games I play, but while trying out an alpha build of Rune, the upcoming third-person sandbox survival RPG from Human Head Studios, the first thing I asked after picking up the dismembered arm of a human enemy was: "Can I eat this?"

In my defense, a few minutes earlier I had stomped on a lizard, then picked it up, bit its head off, and casually tossed the rest of it over my shoulder. So maybe (hopefully) asking Rune's project director Chris Rhinehart if I could eat human limbs wasn't a question completely out of left field. Turns out you can't use human limbs as food, but you can use them as weapons. In Rune, you can beat a guy to death with his dead buddy's arms and legs. Just look elsewhere for a snack.

[...]

Iratus: Lord of the Dead has been funded on Kickstarter.

RPGamer interviewed Kei Mikami and asked him about Valkyria Chronicles 4.

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RPG Site: In the first Valkyria Chronicles, you were able to recruit more characters at the main camp over the course of the game while in Valkyria Chronicles 3, additional characters would join you overtime. How does Valkyria Chronicles 4 approach the recruitment of new characters?

Kei Mikami: So in VC4, more characters join Claude (the main character) at certain points in the story. It’s similar to VC1 in that everyone has different Potentials - some characters are more comfortable being around specific people more than others. Characters will come into the game within each new chapter.

RPG Site: I have an important question. Can you tell us a little about the inclusion of Ragnarok the dog?

Kei Mikami: Ragnarok is actually a rare character that you only get to see at random basically. There’s a random 10% chance that he’ll come running ahead of the medic when a unit is in danger.

Ragnarok does have a certain relationship with the main characters. They see Ragnarok as a good boy - kind of like a funny little dog character, but Ragnarok actually sees himself as a level above humans.

RPG Site: One thing I liked in Valkyria Chronicles 3 is that I was able to change the class of any character. For example, it allowed me to make a Shocktrooper into a Scout, unlock an ability to travel farther under that Scout specialization, and then change back into a Shocktrooper retaining that ability to travel farther. Is there anything like that in Valkyria Chronicles 4?

Kei Mikami: That level of customization is actually not available in VC4 because of the sheer number of characters that join you - there’s about 50 of them. That depth of customization you speak of was possible because there was a more limited number of characters available to you, so the goal there was to have a system flexible enough to make up for the limited quantity.

[...]

@Screenrant Fallout 76 will be introducing cosmetic micotransactions while keeping the DLC free.

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Documentary filmmakers NoClip released The Making of Fallout 76 and revealed some interesting details about what fans can expect. Remembered for overpriced DLC packages, Bethesda hopes to put the disastrous "Horse Armor" meme from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion behind it through Fallout 76's cosmetic microtransactions instead of a pay-to-win style of gameplay. Promising that content will be free for "years to come," Fallout 76's DLCs will be powered by microtransactions as a clever way to keep gamers coming back for more.

[...]

The third developer blog for Unsung Story is focussing on animations, which includes some animated gifs.

The first thing an animator needs to begin animating is a fully “rigged” and “skinned” 3D model. Most of you are probably familiar with the idea of a 3D model, but the ideas of “skinning” and “rigging” are a bit more esoteric.

“Rigging” is essentially the process of creating a skeleton that sits inside the 3D model, which an animator can then use to control motion. Each skeleton is comprised of several controllers that the animator can use to quickly deform and move different parts of the model, which is obviously useful! 

“Skinning” refers to the act of assigning the amount of influence that each of these controllers have over the model and each other. In the real world, moving a part of yourself moves everything connected to it to some degree, which is what skinning emulates. For example, when moving the arm of a model, we want the shoulder to influence the whole arm, the elbow to influence the forearm and hand and the wrist to only influence the hand.

Grimshade has been funded on Kickstarter.

$100,000! We reached our goal!

Hi backers! We’ve raised the money we needed. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Now Grimshade has the financing it needs, and our little elves are hard at work putting together your bonuses and gifts.   

There are only a few days left until the official close of the campaign, so if you want to support our game, increase your pledge, or purchase some kind of “delicious” add-on, you still can!  

Thank you again! You’re the best!

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BattleTech has been reviewed by the RPG Codex.

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Mechs & Potatoes

The core of BATTLETECH are the battles and the tech. Go figure.

[Disclaimer: I’m not familiar with the source material here so I can only judge BATTLETECH the PC game by what it is – though I will state that the misgivings of some of its more ardent players makes it seem as though the tabletop and digital experience are fairly different.]

BATTLEBECH’s battles are split between “freelance” randomized missions and story-missions. It’s similar to Emperor: Battle for Dune in its staccato timing but lacks usage of ‘controlling the strategic layer’ of games like Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. Despite that, both story and random missions are pinned to the larger star map and must be traveled to. Although it’s littered with places to go, the lack of player influence on the map does make it feel a bit barren. And you will make use of its plentiful space as each story-mission is often gated behind a bit of a time limit. During this downtime – or anytime, really – the player can manage a side hustle of pretending to be a mercenary.

On the mercenary missions the players discuss contracts with factions and decide whether to take more cash or a better haul of scrap. You can also give up on either to improve relations with the faction offering the job. I did not once give a damn about faction relations. You get awashed in cash real fast and there is no real fear of being a wanted criminal in a faction’s territories as the gameplay firmly sequesters itself in the mech battles. The lack of care for the factions further sapped the star map of any life (which is mostly unfortunate because it seems absolutely ripe with potential).

Each mission starts with a setup stage where you prep four mechs (a Lance) to take the field. This is the core of where you can alter your BATTLEMECH experience. For example, you can go all medium/heavy/assault mechs and just can-opener your way into the enemy lines, though you risk bearing the full brunt of their attacks hitting your fat, juicy ass. Or you can take a light mech or two with you to dive into enemy ranks, drawing fire which your dwarven machines duck with ease.

[...]

The latest update from Iratus: Lord of the Dead introduces us to some new minions. The Kickstarter has three days remaining and is close to funding.

Devblog #3

Posted by Iratus Official

In our previous devblog we introduced you to the Dwarven Floor and the many new enemies within, which are certain to oppose Iratus in his quest for vengeance and destruction. This time, we would like to show you a few new minions that were created by our exasperated necromancer. Well... they were really designed by our Lead Artist. At the moment we are working on their abilities and animations and we hope to update you on the result in our future devblogs!

***
Ghoul

A ghoul is a surprisingly proud predator, seeing themselves as the apex on the food chain. Stronger, faster and sleeker than any mortal or undead, they have the attitude of particularly lazy cats, wanting the world to revolve around them. In the end, only the threat of utter destruction can make them remember their place as servants of Iratus.

***
Bone Golem

A bone golem is actually a compromise. Normally it is not possible to craft an undead such as this without an equally large body to serve as the foundation (and there are precious few giants around). Only Iratus discovered a way around this limitation: the golem is made of several bodies, held together by the forces of decay and entropy, constantly crumbling and regenerating to maintain its form. Living in a constant cycle, these creatures would make for interesting subjects of philosophical study, were they not far more effective on the battlefield.
Work process

We're still working hard to bring you new updates, which will include bug fixes and fresh content.

As you know, the Bride of Iratus is hysterically jealous and won't let anyone get close to her beloved lord. Our archer will receive a feature which increase her accuracy against female enemies.

Furthermore, the Shade will get its own rework in order to diversify its tactical applications. We would like to make this minion more interesting for our players. For example, the Shade will now move enemies when using his skill "Dark Light".

If you played the alpha or watched the streams, you've probably noticed that the Heavy Firethrower causes a lot of pain, especially when he begins the fight in the first position. Don't worry, it won't happen again! Our apologies :)

Following our players' requests we are also going to add the ability to skip your turn, to hopefully diversify your tactical arsenal. In an upcoming update will add a "Wait" button that will allow your minion to move in the end of the initiative que.

We made tooltips to show hit chance and critical damage on a particular enemy. You will be able to turn tooltips on and off in the settings menu.

Finally, our Save Menu has become more convenient.

These are the main changes to date. Our work is ongoing and we will give you more details for you in a week. We are happy to answer any questions you might have!

@IGN Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was shown off at E3.

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Watch the opening 16 minutes from the E3 2018 demo build of Koji Igarashi's spiritual successor to Castlevania, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Over on the Paradox forums Age of Wonders: Planetfall gets its first development diary.

Hi there! and welcome to the first Age of Wonders: Planetfall development journal. From here on, the team at Triumph will be giving you weekly updates on our progress and revealing details of the game along the way.

Join us at the Paradox Forums: First a request to the AoW3 community: we kindly ask you to join us here on the Paradox forums, as the old Age of Wonders ones will be closed down later this year. This way Triumph can spend more time making games and less on fighting spam-bots. Please create your account here.

Inspiration: By Gandalf’s beard - A sci-fi Age of Wonders? Yes - It’s been a long-standing wish from many of the team to do something with our love of sci fi: Starwars, Dune, Fallout, Starship Troopers have all been an inspiration in one form or another. We feel our beloved war-focussed 4X game formula is a great fit for sci-fi themes - and futuristic weapon arsenals. At the same time, nothing gets the creative juices flowing like a new setting.

Premise: As one of the heirs to the shattered Star Union, you emerge from a cosmic Dark Age to craft a new future for your people. You travel to one of the many lost worlds of the old empire, where you will find marvels among the remnants of this once great civilization. You will need to develop / rediscover technologies and social doctrines for your colonists to thrive on these hostile worlds, for you are not alone here. Other houses compete with yours to rebuild the Star Union, and you will need both a carefully crafted arsenal, and a firm grip on diplomacy if you are to have a chance at victory.

Our Goals:

•  Build a new setting filled with lore and new gameplay opportunities.
•  Transform the melee centered fantasy battles to new ranged sci-fi clashes with cover, overwatch and destructible terrain. Hit chances are back. It’s familiar and vastly different at the same time.
•  Develop Planetary Empire building: Compared to AoW3, we want to added new layers of depth to the economy and diplomacy systems. Sessions now play on wrapping planets which are procedurally generated.
•  Roll out the fourth generation of Triumph’s Creator Engine, which is 64 bit, has a PBR renderer and a new toolset. This allows us – and eventually you through modding – to create a better looking worlds, that contain more content, more efficiently.

There is nothing that reflects the fusion of the gameplay and the setting better than the unit line up. So here is one in pre-alpha state for you: A Vanguard Liberator with Flechette Ammo and Jetpack mods called the Screaming Eagle. How would you name this unit variant?

BonanzaDevDairy1.jpg

Next week we’ll tell more about the setting and its central element: the galactic empire called the Star Union.

RPGamer took a look at Pathfinder: Kingmaker at E3.

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My demo took me to a dungeon filled with trolls that had become immune to fire damage. Given that is one of the troll’s primary weaknesses, this is a problem. Maneuvering around the dungeon was easy enough, a ring formed around the party that served as its line of sight. It felt like I was only able to move the party within this range, which did prevent me from allowing my party to travel long distances after I had cleared most of the dungeon out. The characters I was given were more powerful than they would have been otherwise so combat was no problem. That is until I made a rookie mistake and spent all my resources fighting a troll and not taking care of the mage backing it up. Yes, I wiped with an overpowered party. My only defense is I’m no good at real-time with pause.

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Thanks Purpleblob!

The challenging platformer Azuran Tales: Trials is now available on Steam:

Gameplay

Azuran Tales: Trials offers a different take on platformer gameplay with a hardcore combat experience, punishing levels and brutal enemies to defeat. Don't expect any help as you explore all of its handcrafted levels full of lore, monsters, traps, and unique Bosses. This game is straightforward and hard to beat. Magrath's trickery won't be stopped with just one or two bodies clogging the gears of his traps, so you will be forced to learn and adapt or fail and die each and every time!

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Story

Drukandra, the God of the Dead, Ruler of the Underworld, found your soul worthy for his quest. After granting you his blessing, you are sent to hunt down Magrath, an entity shrouded in mystery, who wields great power and wishes to claim the world of Azuran as his own. Only by finding the hidden pieces of the Amulet of Valur can you bring this foe down, but doing so won't be easy. Deadly traps and villainous enemies await you for Magrath knows you are coming, and he doesn't intend to make things easy for you!

Features

• 15 handcrafted levels
• Different environments - Dungeons, Caves, Cities, Underground and more
• Choice-based character progression
• Deadly mechanics
• Awesome Boss fights
• Nerve-shattering reaction speed usage
• Battle Cleric class gameplay and storyline

RetrospectiveGaming looks back at Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny:

Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny Review (1992)

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About:
"Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny is a role-playing video game developed by Attic Entertainment Software. It was the first game based on the German pen & paper RPG system The Dark Eye by Fantasy Productions. The original German version of the game (German title: Das Schwarze Auge: Die Schicksalsklinge) was released in 1992. Due to its success it was translated to English and released by Sir-Tech in 1993."

Digital Trends is impressed by Cyberpunk 2077, too:

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ preview

The epic sci-fi sprawl of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ feels like the future of gaming

Cyberpunk 2077 looks like the future.

That seems obvious, given the name – but I’m not talking about the setting. The future I see in Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming first-person shooter-RPG from The Witcher series developer CD Projekt RED, is an unprecedented level of choice and consequence in RPGs.

Cyberpunk cultivates an open-world experience where every small detail is perfectly curated to immerse you in a dirty neon city. It helps quite a bit that, even within a highly structured demo, it feels as if Cyberpunk imposes very few limits. You can approach every conversation and scenario however you’d like and perhaps, more importantly, it seems as if every system — from driving to dialogue to hacking to shooting — is well-considered and polished.

Simply put, Cyberpunk 2077 feels like a larger, more complete simulation than any game I’ve ever seen. If the game works half as well as its E3 2018 hands-off demo suggests, it should be at the top of your wish list.

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Jay Krishnan of IndianNoob looks back at Gothic:

Retro Saturdays Episode 22 :: Gothic

The year was 2002 and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind had taken the RPG market by storm. People were praising it left and right for pioneering the modern 3D RPG genre. Meanwhile in an another corner of the world, a 10 year old boy was enjoying the hell out of another 3D open world RPG. No, it wasn’t Bethtesda’s seminal title that went on to win countless awards. The game that had this little kid hooked was relatively unknown and was made by a small team of German developers who called themselves Piranha Bytes. The game was none another than Gothic, a game which is regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time in niche RPG circles, and one which does not hold much impact to the mainstream masses outside that circle. I’m hoping that those who are unfamiliar with Gothic will find this retrospective to be a bit informative, and those that are familiar with the cult classic will get a trip back to memory lane. Without further mumbo-jumbo, let’s take a look at Gothic, an RPG which was truly ahead of its time.

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Gothic- The Legacy

Gothic, while a huge succes in Germany, didn’t get the appreciation it deserved outside the region at the time of release. It however garnered a huge cult following. Gothic was succeeded by Gothic II, which improved upon the game in almost every way imaginable. The map was made 10 times the size of Gothic. Hell, even the prison colony from the first game can be visited in Gothic II and that’s just a small portion of the map. An expansion called Night of the Raven was released for Gothic II. Gothic II and Night of the Raven now comes bundled as Gothic Gold. Gothic II was followed by Gothic 3, an ambitious game with a huge open world. Gothic 3 was ridddled with bugs and performance issues and was received poorly back when it came out. But nowadays Gothic 3 is made a pleasant experience thanks to a gigantic community patch. After making Gothic 3, Piranha Bytes lost the licence to JoWood and JoWood would go onto publish an expansion for Gothic 3 titled Forsaken Gods, and Arcania: Gothic 4, a sequel in name only. Both of these games were poorly received. Piranha Bytes then made the Risen series and Elex in the spirit of Gothic. Even though the Gothic licence is back in their hands, it doesn’t seem like Piranha Bytes is doing anything with it at the moment. Maybe we’ll see a remaster or a remake sometime in the future. In my opinion, Gothic is a modern masterpiece that should be played by fans of the RPG genre. It’s just a damn fine game man.