Redglyph spotted the February update for the System Shock remake:

February Update

Welcome back Hackers!

We’ve got a very special update this month - as you are aware we’re releasing our final demo and opening pre-orders on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store which should be available as you read this. This is a major milestone in our development of System Shock and once again we’d like to thank you for your continued patience and support while we diligently create the experience you originally backed all those years ago.

Our development road was bumpy (to say the least) - but ultimately what you’re playing is the vision and experience we set out to create and the adversity and challenges we’ve faced along the way has only improved the final game. The team has evolved and grown considerably and we hope that the end product will meet your expectations. With all that said we are planning on a late Summer 2021 release date.

On to the demo - Let’s run through all the updates!

• NEW Cyberspace Level! (tame those cyber doggies!)
• NEW Crew Audio Logs! (no devs this time!)
• NEW SHODAN Audio! (Terri is back!)
• NEW Dismemberment! (if Viva Pinata were rated M!)
• NEW Proximity Mines! (don’t get too close!)
• NEW Bugs! (tell us what you find :D)
• NEW Enemies! (the repair bot is flamin’ hot!)
• NEW GenerativeMusic System! (never the same song twice!)
• NEW Snack! (make your selection at the Snacktron!)
• NEW Save Feature! (what a novelty!)
• NEW Notes System! (USB 1.1 support!)
• NEW Difficulty Modes! (crank it all the way up to 3!)
• NEW Destructibility! (smash that glass!)
• NEW DLSS Support! (update your drivers for your RTX card!)
• NEW Trailer! (a ton of new reveals!)
• NEW Nightdive intro! (who’s that lurking in the depths?)
• NEW Secrets! (first to post a picture of the special skull to our Twitter wins a prize!)

So check it out and please tell us what you think - we value your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.

-Stephen

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Demo Live here:

 Steam

 GOG

 Epic Store

A new patch for Vagrus: The Riven Realms has been released:

A New Build is OUT - Patch 0.5.27. - Codename: Luminous

 [...]

Patch 0.5.27 - Codename: Luminous

New/Updated Features

• Faction Offers / Access to Faction reserves
• Faction Rewards (gained for each tier of standing)
• Buy Market info via your Faction connections
• The third beast type enabled (attainable via quests)
• Mount-Up (though not quite feasible yet, more enablers to come)
• Companion Combat formations (save and deploy your fav positionings)
• Hero Select autofill and remove (filling order based on health rate)
• Venari hireling characters (expensive professionals to hire)

New/Updated Content

• The Larnak-Ash region
• Venari HQ in Larnak
• Oquo HQ in Drusian Quarry
• New Companion: Nedir
• Dread Reavers on the road again (though technically this time you are on the road for them)
• Three new music tracks [Deven, Larnak, and an alternate Jaggest Waste]
• Brand new enemies, as well as new versions to existing ones

Updated Game Mechanics

• A great number of changes to the effects of existing and new equipment/gear/statuses
• In many cases, changes to the availability of equipment and gear (now often available as Factions Rewards only as opposed to the market)
• Stronger versions of equipment added - sometimes the original ones nerfed a bit to make the upgrade noticeable without breaking the balance completely

User Interface Improvements

• Indicators added on both the Crew Combat and the Companion Combat side to better indicate which unit participates in them, and also if they were Elite or Leader units
• Market prices and quantities now shown in stacks when the 'mass trade button' is pressed
• Tooltip improvements all across the board

Vanedor spotted a Kickstarter-update for Scarlet Republics:

Update by Olmo

Dear backers,

I hope you are doing well out there.

We haven't sent out an update in a long time, so this one is long overdue. Sorry for leaving you without info for so long. Let me give you a little bit of background to why we haven't sent out updates. Then, we will treat you to a short story set in the world of Corsano, written by one of our new members, Vili. We are incredibly lucky to have him on board, he is a talented writer that really can lift the story-writing up to the next level.

In the last two months, we have been restructuring the company and reforming the team, with old people leaving and new people joining. It was quite challenging and took a lot of work to onboard new members and to get good teamwork flowing. We had to get adjusted to working remotely, and it's still not optimal. Being together in the same room just has a certain magic to it.

Furthermore, we decided to focus most of our efforts on a smaller work for hire project. Work on Scarlet Republics was limited to the story and world-building. We wanted to make sure we are not stretching ourselves thin, so we made sure to work only on one project at a time. The side project helps us pay the bills, and, because of its smaller scope, is a good opportunity for us to refine our processes and pipelines. It's an investment, to have things run more smoothly in the future.

The combination of a lot of new realities to deal with, coupled with a quasi pause of the production on Scarlet Republics, is the reason for the silence from our side. We got sidetracked, and kept pushing the next update for you folks further and further. In hindsight, what we should have done is to give you guys an insight into our plans, and telling you that we would be away for a bit – lesson learned.

We are now back working on Scarlet Republics with the full team, and we are planning to keep you in the loop by posting monthly updates from now on. Our progress will be a bit slow here in the beginning, but I expect us to pick up the pace as we go forward.

 

Now, to the main part of this update. I am excited to share with you this piece written by Vili, our writer. We follow a quite unusual day of a young shepherd boy from a village in the uplands of Cetona. I hope you will enjoy it just as much as we did!

 

That's it from me for this time, I wish you well and good fortune.

—Olmo

The PC version of Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be released in August:

Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Announcement Trailer

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A new update for Baldur's Gate 3 about patch 4.

Community Update #12 - Nature's Power

It’s been a busy few weeks here at Larian HQ. In between finalizing our transmogrification spells, sourcing cows for experimentation, and training them to sign extensive liability waivers with their hooves, we’ve been hard at work putting the finishing touches on Patch 4.

After much anticipation, today we awoke to the holy noise of bells chiming. It was our QA team in the hallowed Larian belfry, each of them clutching a bell rope in their face-tentacles to ring in the good news: Patch 4 ready to go live!

Before we get into it, a quick shoutout to everyone who helped Divinity: Original Sin 2 reach 100,000 reviews on Steam, where it sits with a 95% positive rating. What better way to celebrate that, than with a hefty patch for Baldur’s Gate 3!

If you watched the Panel From Hell 2 last week, you’ll know that this is our biggest Baldur’s Gate 3 patch yet. Thank you to everyone who tuned in. It was a big success, and that means we can think about doing more. (Alternatively, if you missed the livestream, or just fancy seeing Swen in armour again, you can watch it in full just below):

Coming in at a whopping eight pages, Patch 4: Nature’s Power contains a juicy number of fixes, updates, and one particularly major addition: Druids are now a playable class.

You may have spotted us subtly teasing the Druid class in the lead-up to PFH2 with one or two strategically placed references to…cows, as well as vines!. “Will cows be coming to Baldur’s Gate 3?” wondered many a bewildered reader. Well, no. Instead, we would hire a Professional Cow Actor (Stephanie) to appear live on the stream, and through the power of Movie Magic have her use the Wild Shape ability to transform from bovine beauty into an actual Druid. 

With Patch 4: Nature’s Power, Druid characters will be able to use the Wild Shape ability to transform into a variety of different animals, each of which has their own unique abilities. Dire Wolf, Deep Rothe, Aberrant Shape, and Polar Bear forms offer new heavy attack options in combat, while Cat, Raven, Spider, and Badger provide additional strategic and defensive maneuvers – through stealth, flight, web-spinning, and burrowing, respectively.

Like their D&D equivalents, Druids in Baldur's Gate 3 will be able to choose one of two Druid Circle subclasses which impacts interactions in the game: Circle of the Land or Circle of the Moon. The former offers Druids additional perks as a caster, allowing you to pick a specific biome for which you are connected and then grants you additional spells. The latter allows players to boost the combative power of their Wild Shapes and gives you access to the mighty Polar Bear shape.

Druids can speak with their animal kin while in their Wild Shape forms, which provides an alternative to combat encounters via diplomacy. You saw a bit of this in action during the livestream, where we showed a Druid use their Wild Shape ability to transform into a bear and convince a fellow bear to quit blocking a previously impassable entryway. Previously this encounter would have kicked off a combat scenario. Now with the Druid class, players have the option to trigger an adorably non-lethal tête-à-tête.

Loaded dice: toggle for sanity, or disable for purity

Another new feature in this patch is Loaded Dice. The aim here is to smooth out the extremes of the dice-rolling bell curve that might otherwise see players roll a series of unlucky Natural 1s or all-too-lucky D20s in a row. We’ve been considering this for some time, but it’s really a matter of taste and therefore is an optional feature. If you prefer the purity of RNG rolls, those are still available to you. But if you are easily prone to dice-related headaches or if you have angered the algorithm and are now cursed with randomly-generated bad luck, then it's worth a toggle.

Cinematic speak with dead - spooky AND immersive

The Speak with the Dead ability now includes many new corpses to hunker down with for a chat. This means lots of new dialogue and, naturally, new accompanying cinematics. And yes, there is method to our gothic madness. To quote from Swen during the livestream: "If you killed everybody like an idiot and you didn't pay attention to the story and don't know what to do anymore, you can just go talk to their bodies!" Speaking of cinematics, Patch 4 comes with vastly improved lighting and animation and with over 25,000 cinematic nodes throughout Act 1, the game is looking better than ever. Not that we’re done yet. There’s still loads of improvements coming.

Quality of life and user experience tweaks and changes a happier player maketh

A number of quality-of-life changes are included in this patch as well. Targeting allies and enemies will now be easier, and you can do so just by clicking on their portraits - A nice little UI upgrade that means no more blindly clicking your way between characters within the world to find them. Additionally, for those who enjoy playing BG3 with other human beings, you'll now be able to see other players' full Equipment, Spells, Inventory, and Character Sheets. Darker areas of the game have also been improved with a newly dedicated torch button, while a long awaited flee button is now available in the game for easier escapes from combat. Annoy your friends by leaving them to fend for themselves with a tactical retreat!

Sharp-Eye now pees from the “correct approximate bodily area”, which is an example of a quality of life improvement for specifically one NPC, and whoever may be responsible for their laundry.

You can also expect to find stability fixes galore in this update. Here are a few favourites, hot off the patch notes:
- Baelan’s wig was removed and he is now correctly bald, as stated in Derryth’s dialogue.
- Sharp-Eye now pees from the correct bodily area (previously too high up).
- Fixed not being able to shove characters off the skiffs in the Underdark. Happy shoving!

[...]

The new development work on Anthem has been stopped:

Anthem Update

Friends,

In the spirit of transparency and closure we wanted to share that we’ve made the difficult decision to stop our new development work on Anthem (aka Anthem NEXT). We will, however, continue to keep the Anthem live service running as it exists today.

Since Anthem’s launch, the team has been working hard to continually improve the game, releasing multiple updates that brought with them a variety of improvements and introduced new content to play. Towards the end of 2019 we expanded on that effort and started working on a more fundamental restructure of the game.

During the development we’ve provided updates revealing some of the team’s work through blog posts and conversations with you on social media and it’s been inspiring for us to see the positive reactions and feedback. I’ve been incredibly proud of the work the team has been doing, and excited to see and play each new build of the experience.

2020 was a year unlike any other however and while we continue to make progress against all our game projects at BioWare, working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams.

I know this will be disappointing to the community of Anthem players who have been excited to see the improvements we’ve been working on. It’s also disappointing for the team who were doing brilliant work. And for me personally, Anthem is what brought me to BioWare, and the last two years have been some of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career.

Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy. Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

To the Anthem community, thank you for your passion and creativity. Your feedback and suggestions most certainly help shape the team’s direction, and on a personal note, your kindness and encouragement were much needed last year.

Please stay safe and be kind to each other. Strong alone, stronger together.

Christian (Dailey)

Thanks for the info, porcozaur!

Vanedor spotted development ppdate #7 for Mount & Blade II:

Development Update #7: Multiplayer Duel Mode and Battle Terrain System

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Wigmund. The Return of the Hidden Knights has been released as Early Access version:

Wigmund. The Return of the Hidden Knights

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The Adventure RPG Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace will be released on March 23:

Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace

Inspired by the award-winning board game franchise, Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace is an investigation game served with turn-based combat, set in the haunted worlds of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. Plunge into an original story written by Fantasy Flight Interactive’s official writers and explore the American Roaring Twenties.

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The year is 1926: a professor of astronomy is found dead in her mansion and everything indicates that she has been the victim of a heinous murder. Choose from 12 intrepid investigators from the Arkham Horror games, each with a unique set of skills, and assemble your team to shed the light over this mysterious death.

Find clues, perform interrogations and progress through nine chapters as the story unfolds. Your investigation will take you to visit  shadowed institutions and mysterious locales, ranging from Miskatonic University, the Arkham Asylum, and the bayous of Louisiana. 

As the investigators get closer to their goal, your squad will have to face curious science, living nightmares, and a sinister cult, whose mad scheme is to bring about the end of everything. Use a large variety of melee and ranged weapons, as well as powerful items and devastating magic spells to defeat your opponents in turn-based combat; while you attempt to retain your sanity.

As you face off against Lovecraftian horrors, your investigators will descend deeper into the depths of madness, affecting their level of sanity and causing traumas that will impact the course of your investigation. Care about your sanity and make the right choices … the Ancient Ones are preparing their return.

The Adventure-RPG Everhood will be released on March 4:

Everhood

An UNCONVENTIONAL ADVENTURE RPG that takes place in an inexpressible world filled with amusing musical battles and strange delightful encounters. To put it simply: You are in for a ride. 

Welcome to the world of Everhood
Where up is down
And left is right
Where time has stopped
And strange characters R O A M

Here you control a wooden doll whose arm has been stolen by a blue gnome…

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Features

• Groove to music based battles
• Embark on a 5-6 hour journey with many twists and turns
• Expect the unexpected
• Enter a wild world with visceral visuals accompanied with magical music
• Conquer a great challenge that awaits the bold...

((Game contains imagery that may be harmful to players with photosensitive epilepsy or similar condition))

Matt plays Champions of Krynn with the Gold Box Companion:

Matt Chat 463: Champions of Krynn

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Learn more about companion Lileah in this update:

Companions Update #1 - Lileah, The Last Light of Vaizmil

Let Her Light Shine Upon Your Shield

In the lands of Plamen you’ll find many who will want to join in your crusade against Alaloth—if your interests align. Some will come from far and wide, from distant lands or from their own home in Plamen, but all have the same goal in mind—defeating the great demon. These characters are potential Companions who would join you on your quest. The first you may choose to add to your band of heroes is Lileah. She is someone who cherishes the light of Vaizmil and wants to protect all that is innocent and good, especially now, that corruption that is slowly but surely taking over Edherest.

Lileah, The Last light of Vaizmil

Hailing from Altar City, Lileah was orphaned when the city was destroyed by Alaloth’s Tempests. Now the city is known as the God Graves. As a child, she was always aggressive and looking for a fight. No caretaker or family had the patience to bear with the wild child and she often found herself on the streets of Edherest. As she matured, she formed a bond with the Shield-Bearers of Vaizmil, eventually becoming a member, and used her aggression and violent nature for good. But as the priesthood lost its hold over Edherest and magic users became more powerful than ever in the service of the great houses, Lileah found herself disillusioned by her position in life. She worked tirelessly to save persecuted priests from the hands of the houses and now, she seeks a way to restore balance to the kingdom. As the last sentinel of Vaizmil, Lileah has taken it upon herself to fight against the enemies of the Goddess and slay the ultimate monster, Alaloth. She will seek a champion to join forces with who will protect the innocent and do what’s good, even at the cost of self-sacrifice.

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

Cyberpunk 2077 on Twitter:

While we dearly wanted to deliver Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 in the timespan we detailed previously, the recent cyber attack on the studio’s IT infrastructure and extensive scope of the update mean this unfortunately will not happen — we’ll need some additional time. 

Our goal for Patch 1.2 goes beyond any of our previous updates. We’ve been working on numerous overall quality improvements and fixes, and we still have work to do to make sure that’s what you get. With that in mind, we’re now aiming for release in the second half of March.

It’s not the news we enjoy sharing, but we want to make sure we launch this update properly. Stay tuned for more information as the time draws closer. Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted some hotfixes for Avalom: Ancestral Heroes:

-> Hotfix 1

-> Hotfix 2

-> Hotfix 3

Wassup Conversations interviewed writer Helen Hindpere about Disco Elysium and the upcoming Final Cut:

Masterclass: Helen Hindpere Talks About Writing Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

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Helen Hindpere is the Award-Winning writer of the genre-defining Disco Elysium. In this episode, she talks about her techniques and the way she and her colleagues wrote Disco Elysium.

Thanks Redglyph!

Redglyph spotted the main theme of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous:

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Main theme - Live Orchestra

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Go with the chorus, symphony orchestra and Owlcat music composers and discover how music for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous comes to life!

Geneforge 1 - Mutagen is now available on Steam, GOG and in the Epic Games Store:

Thanks Yemeth!

Gematsu reports that Nier: Automata has sales exceeding 5.5 million.

Total worldwide shipments and digital sales for NieR: Automata have exceeded 5.5 million units, Square Enix announced.

The game was last reported in December 2020 to have reached five million units.

[...]

From the Paradox Interactive year-end report 2020:

Year-end Report 2020

[...]

This also affects the development of Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, where we communicated a delay during the third quarter of 2020. We have now chosen to postpone the release of the game further, and we will not be launching the game in 2021. We have also decided that Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2, and we have started a collaboration with a new studio partner to finish work on the game. This has been a difficult decision, but we are convinced that it is the right way forward to do the game justice.

[...]

Thanks Yemeth!

The RPG Persona 5 Strikers has been released:

Persona 5 Strikers

Join the Phantom Thieves and strike back against the corruption overtaking cities across Japan. A summer vacation with close friends takes a sudden turn as a distorted reality emerges; reveal the truth and redeem the hearts of those imprisoned at the center of the crisis!

Jump into the stylish world of Persona in an all-new story

Dynamically control your team during explosive action combat

Battle across Japan in an epic road trip

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Key Features Include:

• Experience the world of Persona 5 Strikers on PC in Full HD, supports up to 4K
• Steam Achievements and Trading Cards
• Choose between Japanese and English VO
• Full keyboard and mouse adaptation

DSOGaming reports on a new HD mod for Final Fantasy VII called SYW. The mod also comes with optional replacement 3d models.

Created by Satsuki Yatoshi, the SYW mod represents the most accurate modern take on the PC version of Final Fantasy VII. This mod uses deep learning techniques (such as ESRGAN) in order to overhaul the game’s graphics. The package includes cleaner, more detailed and higher resolution background arts. It also comes with better battlefields, world map, magic effects, and menus.

The main goal of the SYW mod is to improve the graphics as much as possible without having an oversharp and overclean effect. The mod also attempts to keep the rendering as natural as possible and constant in quality across the whole game.

[...]

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The latest update for Jupiter Hell announces a release date of 5th August and a new publisher called Hyperstrange.

Jupiter Hell 0.9.7 - Expanse! + full release date announcement!

Took us a bit more time, but this release is HUGE! Jupiter Hell 0.9.7 Expanse features larger moons, mid-point levels, new generators for second halfs of the moons, 4 new branches and 4 new special levels, much improved monster placement and lists, and on top of that a huge rework of traits! But before we go into detail - there’s an important announcement we need to make.

Full release date and new publisher

Jupiter Hell has been in Early Access for 18 months now, and we’ve been providing you with a - more or less - steady stream of updates featuring new content, bug fixes, polish, and implementations of your feedback. It’s about time we announce our full release plans.

With 5 more regular monthly updates to go, we’re getting ready to release Jupiter Hell 1.0 on the 5th of August, 2021. To make the most of the full release, we’re teaming up with Hyperstrange, the developer of ELDERBORN and POSTAL: Brain Damaged, who will assume the role of the publisher.

Hyperstrange are good old friends and great fans and supporters of Jupiter Hell. Their ELDERBORN is an Early Access success story, and we’re convinced that if an indie dev needs a publisher at all, they should bring some unique perspective and understanding to the table. Hyperstrange does. They’re already around our Discord, so if you have any questions for them - don’t hesitate to ask!

The first obvious question we can answer right here, right now: yes, we do have updates planned beyond the full release, which also aligns us with Hyperstrange, who also support and expand their games post-launch.



So, there it is - six more months until full release. We’re excited, and we’re shifting gears on the development. Now, back to regular programming! Here's what the Expanse update brings to Jupiter Hell:

New branches

A total of four branches have been added - Callisto Rift, Europa Ruins, Shadow Halls and Noxious Mines. Each new branch has a new special level, Noxious Mines use the old Noxious Hollow, while Infernal Lock has been added to Io main route. Especially of note are Europa Ruins and Shadow Halls which feature a brand new tileset, and especially interesting special levels ;)

Monster generation

The game we all know is known for its huge fights, and Jupiter Hell can't be any different! Monsters now more often get generated in larger packs, especially at higher difficulties, leading to more exciting fights and a better challenge once you're already rocking that Master Trait of choice ;). We also balanced late game spawns better - Io and Beyond won't be a cakewalk anymore.

[...]

The Way of Wrath is 100% funded on Kickstarter:

WE DID IT TOGETHER! From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU! Our game is 100% funded!

Dear Players, 

YOU HAVE MADE OUR DREAM COME TRUE!

Thank You!

It's impossible to put into words how excited and grateful we are to have your support and to share this game development journey with you. You are amazing! And we are so lucky to have you on board for this adventure. 

You made it possible for us to stay true to our vision and create The Way of Wrath the way we always hoped.  A fully-fledged, interactive, and innovative RPG designed with an amazing community of RPG players. 

Let's make a kickass game together! 

[...]

Congratulations!

COG has reviewed the adventure RPG Haven:

Haven Review – A Comfortable Romantic Adventure

Haven is a romantic RPG that concentrates on the love and growth of our two protagonists: Yu and Kay. Released in time for Valentine’s Day, I was guilty of spending the weekend pretending to be two fictional characters instead of pursuing my own love life, but it’s hard to blame me – Yu and Kay’s interactions and emotions are incredibly relatable. Silly, adventurous, and never compromising their own personality, Haven shows us what it’s like to explore and survive an unknown world through mutual love and understanding, and is a great depiction of a realistic relationship that is refreshing to see.

[...]

Haven is a noteworthy story that defines what it is like to find your home with your loved one. Yu and Kay have their ups and downs, but Haven shows that love conquers all hardships. The game is about exploring and finding new places, and of course being free to love whoever you want. Like all relationships the game isn’t perfect, but it successfully presents a warm and powerful narrative that demonstrates an adult relationship with characters that we can all relate to.

Score: 80/100

Skill Incarnate checked out The Waylanders:

The Waylanders - First Impressions

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The Turn Based Lovers checked out Shores Unknown:

Shores Unknown | Turn-Based RPG | Gameplay First Look

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Finally, Shores Unknown by Vallynne is available in early access and I show you the starting phase of the game with an overview on menus, world map, and character screens. Let me know what you think about Shores Unknown in the comments below.

Paradox now offers a DLC pass for Crusader Kings II.

CKII Subscription Service

Howdy all,

Sorry for the surprise information after not hearing from us for a while, but we have some super cool stuff to tell you. We are glad to bring you the launch of a new subscription service to the Crusader Kings 2 Game experience!

Crusader Kings II is now available via subscription, giving users a convenient way to enjoy all of the medieval plotting and politicking that has made Crusader Kings a beloved game for strategists and role players alike. Subscribers will have automatic access to every piece of Crusader Kings II content with no other purchases necessary.

Things to look forward to in this Subscription Service:

• 13 major expansions, including the fierce Norse of The Old Gods, the eastern riches of Rajas of India and the scheming vassals of Conclave.
• 12 unit packs, including new army sprites for your medieval forces
• 14 music packs, including two heavy metal scores
• 10 portrait packs of clothing and faces for rulers around the world
• The Game Converter which lets you export your saved game to Europa Universalis IV.
• The Crusader Kings II Ruler Designer, so you can create your own starting monarch.
• and many more improvements to the core game experience.

The Crusader Kings II base game is currently available for free on the Steam store.
What does the subscription include?
The subscription will allow you to play Crusader Kings II with all of the available content included - expansion packs, portraits, clothing and music packs.

Why is this a subscription?
With so much additional content available, the cost for new Crusader Kings II players can seem prohibitive or intimidating. This is an affordable way for players to experience the entire Crusader Kings II catalog without having to weigh which items they would prefer to purchase.
This does not mean it is the only way to get DLC moving forward. The Subscription service is entirely optional and purchasing a single or multiple DLC packs without the Subscription is still an option.

I already have every Crusader Kings II thing. Will this affect me?
No. Nothing will change for people who already own any or all Crusader Kings II content.

What happens if I stop subscribing?
If you stop subscribing, you will lose access to any content you have not separately purchased or downloaded. (The Crusader Kings II base game is free.)

Will you be bringing subscriptions to other games?
Subscription plans are an option we are exploring for other Paradox titles.

To view or discuss on our forums check out the thread here.

The tactical RPG Shores Unknown has been released as Early Access version:

Shores Unknown

Shores Unknown is a single-player tactical RPG featuring an innovative gridless battle system combined with epic fights against huge bosses and enemy armies.

THE SHORES BECKON
Shores Unknown takes place in a land ruled by the iron-fisted Crown, and policed by the fearsome Inquisition, from whom it is said there is no escape. To the south lies the Empire and perpetual war, while to the north there is only the Murk — a seething wall of fog from which no ship has ever returned. In the midst of these grand forces, both natural and otherwise, our heroes must find a way to survive and to pursue their dreams of liberty.
Play as the newly-made leader of a mercenary company, fresh off an assignment gone awry. Now on the wrong side of the Crown, allies and loyalty are paramount. Forced to venture through the maw of the Murk in a search for truth, players will explore unknown lands, forge new alliances, and wage battle against those who would see to their end. What dangers await on Shores Unknown?

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GAME FEATURES

• Gridless tactical turn-based combat: take your time to assess the situation and command your characters in the Order Phase, then watch your strategy come to life during the Action Phase as the characters maneuver around the battlefield and carry out their orders.
• Adaptive character advancement system: characters learn new skills and unlock new classes depending on their equipment and combat choices.
• Deep party customization options allow the player to build the perfect mercenary team of their choice, allowing full control over equipment and skills used by each character.
• Vibrant world rendered in low-poly stylistic full of little details to immerse yourself in. Explore the various locations of the game, interact with dozens of characters and uncover the secrets of the Shores.

The open world RPG Avalom: Ancestral Heroes has been released as Early Access version:

Avalom - Ancestral Heroes

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The Turn Based Lovers checked out the tactical RPG Might is Right:

Might is Right | Old-School RPG | Gameplay First Look

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Let's play Might is Right by Lazy Kitty. An indie old-school RPG released on 19 Feb, 2021. You take control of a squad of up to 6 characters, including your hero and 5 mercenaries. You explore a huge world fighting your way through the troops of numerous enemies. Each character gains experience in combat, as well as new levels, increasing parameters and receiving talent points. The number of levels is unlimited.

A new trailer for Black Myth: Wukong.

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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! Note: This video is specially produced for celebrating Chinese New Year. It does not represent actual plot. Black Myth: Wukong is an action-adventure game developed by Game Science Studio. The game is still in development, and the release date has not been determined yet.

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Gematsu reports on a new trailer for Persona 5 Strikers.

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Liberate hearts with the Phantom Thieves! Join forces to take down the mysterious forces stealing desires across Japan in Persona 5 Strikers, available February 23!

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PC Gamer reports that Skyrim mod Enderal is becoming compatible with the special edition.

Last month SureAI, the team behind the hugely popular Skyrim overhaul Enderal, announced they have moved on to focus on a commercial project, and won't be updating Enderal to be compatible with Skyrim Special Edition (the original version required "Oldrim" to play). However, fans have since taken on the task and created a version of Enderal that runs in the Skyrim Special Edition engine, with a Steam release on the way.

Advantages of being able to play Enderal in Skyrim Special Edition include "smoother image quality and improved lighting effects" as well as "Best performance and stability", they say. It also makes a VR version possible, and someone's working on a VR mod already.

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Orange Cast is a third person space shooter game for which there is now a new roadmap.

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As humanity’s elite space trooper, you take on a heroic, action-packed adventure throughout the galaxy. Explore planets, protect colonies, and be the first to meet the unknown!

Protect Humanity

Fast-paced and rewarding combat. Face cunning enemies, defeat menacing bosses, and arm yourself with top-notch weaponry of your choice.

True Sci-Fi experience

Dialogs, cinematics, and the choice-driven story inspired by James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series.

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DSOGaming reports on a new version of The Dark Mod which is a mod based on THIEF.

The Dark Mod 2.09 brings various performance and graphical improvements. For instance, it uses a brand new Backend that takes advantage of UBO, Persistent Mapping, Bindless textures, and Multi-Draw. Additionally, Normal Map compression now uses RGTC resulting in lower storage, VRAM requirements, and less artifacts.

This new version of The Dark Mod also adds a new Sharpening filter. Moreover, it improves its particle physics for both accuracy and performance.

You can download The Dark Mod 2.09 from here. Below you can also find its key features.

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