#pc game development services

[sweecute-jamie]

Do you know which game avatar is this ? Checkout on https://Gamepodcasts.com and play online games

[macrobiangames]

unity 3d game development agencies

Among the Unity 3D game development agencies, Macrobian Games is exceptional. They are conversant with how to use Unity 3D in developing good games. Their team is aware of how to design games that are aesthetically pleasing and functional. If you have a game idea and wish to get it done at Unity 3D, then Macrobian Games can be a good option. They can assist you in doing that and ensure that the game is fun for the players.

[gamixlabs]

PC Game Development Services in India

We deliver PC game development solutions for all sorts of games. We have a team of passionate developers specialized in PC game development. We made every kind of games for pc.

[knick-global]

In the field of interior design, visualization plays a crucial role in bringing ideas to life. With the advent of advanced rendering software like V-Ray, designers can now create stunningly realistic visual representations of their concepts. In this blog post, we will explore the transformative impact of V-Ray on interior design, unlocking a new era of photorealistic possibilities.

The Power of V-Ray in Interior Design V-Ray has emerged as a game-changer and development in the world of interior design, enabling designers to go beyond traditional 2D representations and immerse clients in virtual spaces that mirror reality. With its robust features and unparalleled rendering capabilities, V-Ray empowers designers to achieve breathtaking levels of detail, lighting, and material accuracy.

[astrocafecoffee]

Astro observation ( part 1)

🔹For entertainment purposes only, enjoy🔹

♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

✨ Uranus in the first house individuals may reject authority or traditions that feels restrictive to them.others may seem them as trendsetters or avant -garde in their approach to life.

✨ Venus in the 10th house of natal chart peoples are so workaholic that they prioritise their career, success over personal relationships or self care.

✨ your spouse's name asteroid could fall in your natal 7th house. ( Not necessarily, but it can be).

✨ mercury in the 5th house can indicate a communicative and involved parenting style. This individuals may encourage their children's intellectual development, creativity, and curiosity, fostering a supportive environment that values self expression and learning.

✨ Scorpio mars individuals have a strong sense of loyalty and protectiveness towards their loved ones. They can be fiercely protective of those they care about and may go to great lengths to defend and support them.

✨ regulus in 7th house of Composite chart - your relationship with your person may bring some fame/ recognition.

✨ Astrocartography mc lines - indicates which place may have a significant impact on your career or public life.

✨ Astrocartography Dc lines - you may meet your spouse/ long term partner there.

✨ Saturn in the 4th house individuals are very traditional 🙂

✨ solar return Jupiter/ mercury in 3rd house/ 10th house may indicate favorable year for cracking competitive exams.

✨ Earth dominate individuals may admire partners who take their commitments seriously whether it's in personal relationships ,career or other areas of life.

✨ juno in 1st house of groom persona chart means your spouse may influence how you present yourself to others or how you are perceived in social settings. they could bring out certain qualities in you or play a significant role in shaping your public image.

✨ South node lines in your Astrocartography chart indicates where you lived in your past lives.

✨ Briede conjunct Devine asteroid in synastry - divine/ fated relationship.

✨ Union asteroid in your groom / briede pc can indicate where you will meet your potential life partner/ spouse :

♾️ Union in Aries - dynamic / stimulating environments suggest adventurous activities, sports events, or places that involved risk taking and exploration. Gyms, fitness classes, martial art studios, organizing events , can meet through social gatherings / casual meet ups where people gather for fun or socializing. , Business conferences/ academic competitions.

♾️ Union in Taurus -

Fine dining restaurants , art galleries/ elegant social events. Settings related to finance, banking, investments , or business networking events., Exhibitions , concerts, musical performance, through mutual friends, wellness workshops.

♾️ Union in gemini -

Intellectual or educational events, workshops, seminars, book clubs , social gatherings , parties , online platforms, social media, dating apps, local festivals , neighborhood gatherings , during travel, airport, train station, writing workshop, media production, related to communication and journalism.

♾️ Union in cancer -

Family gatherings , reunions, hospitals , caregiving facilities, charity events , volunteering activities, through mutual friends, at historical sites, museums, art galleries, cultural events, small town festivals, near Lake, river, beaches, cafe , restaurant.

♾️ Union in leo -

Theatres , music venues, art galleries, or during performances and artistic events, parties , weddings, festivals , or grand gathering, acting class, outdoor festival, sports event , amusement park, related to child's education, youth organization, casinos, comedy clubs , gaming centre etc.

♾️ Union in Virgo -

Office , workplaces, professional conferences, networking events, volunteer activities, community service projects, charitable organisations, gyms, fitness classes health food store, wellness center, university, school , educational seminars, pet adoption events, parks , botanical garden.

♾️ Union in Libra -

Social getherings, parties, networking events, through mutual friends, concerts, cultural events, museums, theatre performance, settings related to law, mediation or during discussions that involve finding mutual agreements or resolutions., Teamwork, collaboration, relationship focused workshop,fashion shows, design exhibition, cocktail party, formal gatherings, courtroom, law office.

♾️ Union in scorpio -

Psychotherapy session, support groups, detective work, reasearch fields or in setting that require deep analysis and understanding., Spiritual retreats, metaphysical shops, astrology or tarot classes, tantra workshop, relationship councilling, setting related to investment, joint ventures, estate planning, holistic health centres , transformational workshop, place focused on healing practices.

♾️ Union in Sagittarius -

Travel, airport, train station, in foreign countries, or while participating in adventures such as hiking, backpacking, or exploring new cultures, University, libraries, seminars, religious gatherings, philosophy group, outdoor activities, sports events, camping trips, cultural festival, international events, language exchange program, law, publishing house, that promotes justice.

♾️ Union in Capricorn -

Office, corporate events, buisness conference, while pursuing ambitious projects, leadership roles, ceremony, cultural events, context related to banking, investments, Financial setting, teaching activities , prestigious club , organization, or during events where recognition and achievements are celebrated., Formal dinner etc.

♾️ Union in Aquarius -

Activism, volunteer work, community organization, seminars, conferences, discussion groups, online platforms, social media, tech startups, through mutual friends, social circles, online communities, music festival, Charity work.

♾️ Union in Pisces -

May meet in spiritual retreats, meditation centre, yoga studio, art galleries, theatre, music concert, poetry reading,film screening , volunteer work, charitable organisations, near Lake , beaches , hospital, clinic, wellness center, music festival, dance class, spiritual chants or ceremonies, book clubs focused on fiction on fantasy genres.

✨ Saturn in 1st house people often have RBF / Serious demeanor 👺

✨ Moon opposite/ square Saturn in solar return chart indicates emotional heaviness, feeling of loneliness or responsibilities weighing heavily on the emotions 😭.

✨ Jupiter/ Venus in 2nd house of Groom/ Briede pc indicates rich spouse.

✨ South node conjunct karma in synastry might suggest past life conflicts, power struggles or intense experiences that need healing or resolution in the current lifetime.

My other posts :

🔮 your future spouse's career.

🔮 your past life.

🔮 marriage placement in synastry and composite.

And many more on my page-

See you soon ~

- Piko ✨

[felassan]

New Dragon Age: The Veilguard Journal entry:

"Journal #9 Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe Co-Composers Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Composers Announcement"

"Hey everyone! Today, we’re so happy to announce that two-time Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer and Grammy-winner Lorne Balfe have co-composed the Official Soundtrack (OST) for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the new single-player fantasy RPG experience coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, EA App, and Epic Games Store on October 31, 2024. The legendary composers have collaborated on dozens of projects throughout their careers and have worked closely with the development team at BioWare to create a score celebrating the world of Thedas and its heroes. Fans will be able to pre-order the Official Soundtrack album beginning October 18th on iTunes and Amazon Music, with the formal release to follow on November 1st via Lakeshore Records. Moreover, in celebration of the announcement, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Main Theme, has been released as the first single from the official soundtrack, and can be downloaded and streamed now on all major music services such as Spotify, iTunes, and more. “One of our goals with the music for Dragon Age: The Veilguard was to provide a strong anchor between the world of Thedas and the diverse characters that inhabit that world,” said Cody Behiel, Audio Director for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. “We wanted to ensure that throughout the game's story, whether at its most epic or its most intimate, players were able to feel their actions connect to the personal relationships they have been fostering. Working with Hans and Lorne took these ideas to greater emotional heights than we thought possible and I am so excited for players to experience it.” Oscar-winner Zimmer, one of the world’s most renowned composers, has won numerous awards and honors for his scores in such films as Dune, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception, and many more. With over 100 film scores to his credit, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the first video game soundtrack composed by Zimmer in nearly 10 years. Speaking about his work on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Hans Zimmer said, “Epic stories lend themselves to epic scores, and the narrative tapestry BioWare has woven in The Veilguard never left me wanting for inspiration, be it during the game’s moments of shining heroism or darkest emotional pitfalls. I’m proud to have shared the journey of creating the musical backdrop for the latest Dragon Age adventure with Lorne and the entire design team.” GRAMMY Award-winner Balfe has over 170 composer credits across movies, TV and games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Beyond: Two Souls, all of which received nominations for Best Original Music from the BAFTA Games Awards. “The world of Dragon Age is an unprecedented immersive experience, and never more so than in Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” said Lorne Balfe. “Crafting this score alongside Hans Zimmer has allowed us to bring an epic new majesty to the realm of Thedas, bringing these characters and their stories to the next level. I cannot wait for people to play this game.” Players can pre-order Dragon Age: The Veilguard now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. We still have a few more things to talk about before release, and we hope you enjoy our main theme in the meantime!             — The Dragon Age Team"

[source]

(emphasis mine)

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Incandescent Ode of Resurrection" Version 5.3 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 5.3 update "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2025/01/01 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 5.3.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2025/01/01 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2025/01/04 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2025/01/01 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Xbox Series X|S: Open the system main menu, select "My games & apps," select the "Manage" tab, and on the "Updates" page, find "Genshin Impact" and confirm to update.

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Characters

5-Star Character "Night-Igniting Flame" Mavuika (Pyro)

◇ Gnosis: Pyro

◇ Weapon: Claymore

◇ The leader of Natlan who inherited the Ancient Name of "Kiongozi." She made a vow to illuminate the future of the nation of war with the Sacred Flame.

◆ Elemental Skill: The Named Moment

◇ Summons forth the "All-Fire Armaments" and enters the Nightsoul's Blessing state. Tap to have "All-Fire Armaments" manifest into the Ring of Searing Radiance. The Ring follows the current active character and attacks nearby opponents at intervals, dealing Nightsoul-aligned Pyro DMG. Hold to have "All-Fire Armaments" manifest as a Flamestrider, further improving Mavuika's terrain-crossing abilities. Mavuika's Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks will also deal Nightsoul-aligned Pyro DMG. While in the Nightsoul's Blessing state, tapping the Elemental Skill can switch the All-Fire Armaments' form.

◆ Elemental Burst: Hour of Burning Skies

◇ Mavuika's Elemental Burst is not reliant on Elemental Energy, but instead on "Fighting Spirit." When party characters consume Nightsoul points or their Normal Attacks hit opponents, Mavuika will gain Fighting Spirit. When Mavuika accumulates a certain amount of Fighting Spirit, she can consume it all to unleash her Elemental Burst.

◇ After Mavuika activates her Elemental Burst, she summons the "All-Fire Armaments" Flamestrider and enters the Nightsoul's Blessing state. She will execute a powerful Sunfell Slice on enemies, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Pyro DMG. While in the special state, Mavuika's actions no longer consume Nightsoul points, and during this time, Sunfell Slice, the Flamestrider mode's Normal and Charged Attacks deal increased DMG based on the amount of "Fighting Spirit" consumed.

5-Star Character "Obsidian Opalstar" Citlali (Cryo)

◇ Vision: Cryo

◇ Weapon: Catalyst

◇ The great shaman from the Masters of the Night-Wind, the universally-revered Granny Itztli.

◆ Elemental Skill: Dawnfrost Darkstar

◇ Citlali activates her Opal Shield and summons Itzpapa, gaining Nightsoul points and entering the Nightsoul's Blessing state. When Citlali's Nightsoul points exceed a certain amount, Itzpapa will continuously consume Nightsoul points to summon a Frostfall Storm that will attack enemies within range, dealing Nightsoul-aligned Cryo DMG.

◇ After unlocking the Passive Talent "Itzpapalotl's Star Garments," Citlali will recover a set amount of Nightsoul points whenever a nearby party member triggers a "Nightsoul Burst."

◆ Elemental Burst: Edict of Entwined Splendor

◇ Citlali hurls an icy storm at the area in front of her, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Cryo DMG. This also summons a Spiritvessel Skull near enemies that explodes after a period of time and restores a set amount of Nightsoul points to herself.

4-Star Character "Spring Woven From Jade" Lan Yan (Anemo)

◇ Vision: Anemo

◇ Weapon: Catalyst

◇ A rattan weaver from Chenyu Vale. Clear-minded and well-tempered, she is as lively as a mountain spring.

◆ Elemental Skill: Swallow-Wisp Pinion Dance

◇ Lan Yan summons a Swallow-Wisp Shield, dashes forward and, upon making contact with her target, will leap back into the air. While in mid-air, pressing her Elemental Skill again or pressing Normal Attack will cause Lan Yan to hurl her Feathermoon Rings at an opponent, and they will spin between nearby opponents upon hit, dealing Anemo DMG.

◆ Elemental Burst: Lustrous Moonrise

◇ Creates a Feathermoon Swallow Array, pulling in nearby opponents and objects and dealing multiple instances of AoE Anemo DMG.

◆ Passive Talent: Four Sealing Divination Charms

◇ When her Elemental Skill dash hits an opponent, the Swallow-Wisp Shield and Feathermoon Rings will undergo an Elemental Absorption depending on the elements they come into contact with.

5-Star Character: Traveler (Pyro)

◇ Interact with a Statue of The Seven - Pyro to resonate with the Pyro element, and use a new Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst.

◆ Elemental Skill: Flowfire Blade

◇ Wields a searing flame and enters the Nightsoul's Blessing state. Tap to summon a "Blazing Threshold" that follows the current active character. It will deal Nightsoul-aligned Pyro DMG to nearby opponents at intervals. Hold to summon a "Scorching Threshold" that follows the current active character. It will launch a Coordinated Attack that deals Nightsoul-aligned Pyro DMG to opponents.

◆ Elemental Burst: Plains Scorcher

◇ Condense the flames into a mark, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Pyro DMG to opponents up ahead, and restores the Traveler's Nightsoul points periodically for a certain duration afterward.

◆ Resonance Unlock Criteria:

• Complete "Where All Hopes Lie" in Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

◇ Giving offerings to the "Throne of the Primal Fire" will further enhance your Pyro abilities.

◆ Function Unlock Criteria:

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

II. New Equipment

New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

A Thousand Blazing Suns (5-Star Claymore)

Gain the "Scorching Brilliance" effect when using an Elemental Skill or Burst: CRIT DMG increased by 20% and ATK increased by 28% for 6s. This effect can trigger once every 10s. While a "Scorching Brilliance" instance is active, its duration is increased by 2s after Normal or Charged attacks deal Elemental DMG. This effect can trigger once every second, and the max duration increase is 6s. Additionally, when the equipping character is in the Nightsoul's Blessing state, "Scorching Brilliance" effects are increased by 75%, and its duration will not count down when the equipping character is off-field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon A Thousand Blazing Suns (Claymore) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Starcaller's Watch (5-Star Catalyst)

Increases Elemental Mastery by 100. Gain the "Mirror of Night" effect within 15s after the equipping character creates a shield: The current active party member deals 28% increased DMG to nearby opponents. You can gain the "Mirror of Night" effect once every 14s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Starcaller's Watch (Catalyst) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

III. New Outfits

Hu Tao: Cherries Snow-Laden

◇ Hu Tao's outfit. Styled in a palette lighter than the dark ceremonial wear favored by the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the dress is a special gift from her good friend Xiangling. The sunglasses, for their part, are from Hu Tao's personal collection.

◆ After the Version 5.3 update to 2025/02/10 03:59, Hu Tao's outfit "Cherries Snow-Laden" will be available for purchase in the Character Outfit Shop at a limited-time discount! During the discount period, the price of the outfit is 1,350 Genesis Crystals. The price will revert to 1,680 Genesis Crystals after the limited-time discount ends. The outfit can only be purchased once.

Xiangling: New Year's Cheer

◇ Xiangling's outfit. The red coat glows like a stove amidst cold winds, topped with a hat that, at Hu Tao's suggestion, took inspiration from Guoba's appearance — a design that's right up Xiangling's alley.

◆ During Version 5.3, Travelers can obtain Xiangling's outfit "New Year's Cheer" for free by participating in the limited-time "Springtime Charms" event.

◆ After Version 5.3 is over, Travelers can buy the outfit in the Character Outfit Shop.

IV. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quest

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

Permanently available after the Version 5.3 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Interlude "All Fires Fuel the Flame"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

2. New Story Quest

Mavuika's Story Quest - Sol Invictus Chapter: Act I "As the Blazing Sun"

Permanently available after the Version 5.3 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

3. New Tribal Chronicles

"Memories Flowing With Color"

Act III of "Memories Flowing With Color" will be permanently available after the Version 5.3 update

◆ Act III Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

• Complete Act I and Act II of the Tribal Chronicles Quest "Memories Flowing With Color"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

You can use the "Quick Start" function to accept and progress through Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" while maintaining your current progress in the existing Archon Quests. After using the "Quick Start" function to complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I, you can continue to accept and complete the subsequent Acts of Chapter V until you unlock the latest Archon Quest or Tribal Chronicles introduced in the current version update.

V. New Enemies

Lord of Eroded Primal Fire

◇ A fell dragon, congealed from the power of pitch-black darkness.

Some of its attacks can cause stackable "Attrition" that, after a time, will cause your active character to lose HP. During combat, the Lord of Eroded Primal Fire will grant itself a Void Ward. At this time, use a certain number of elemental attacks to break the Ward, which will cause it to enter a confused state. Nightsoul-aligned elemental attacks will break the Ward more effectively.

Located in the Tezcatepetonco Range

Once you reach Adventure Rank 40, you can Quick Challenge the new boss's Trounce Domain through your Adventurer Handbook in Single Player Mode.

Wayward Hermetic Spiritspeaker

◇ A priestess of the Masters of the Night-Wind who has lived apart from her tribe, honing her abilities in utter solitude.

Will summon identical Radiant Reflections and hide amongst them. Destroy all the Radiant Reflections' Elemental Wards during this time to reveal and weaken the real body. Additionally, Iktomisaurs and Masters of the Night-Wind characters can Hold their Aim over Radiant Reflections to pause their movement for a short time...

Located in the Tezcatepetonco Range

VI. New Gameplay

New Gameplay: Repertoire of Myriad Melodies

In Mondstadt, Sansa the bard's heartfelt performance catches your and Paimon's attention. After a discussion with her about playing musical instruments, you receive a precious gift...

◆ Gameplay Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 35 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

Gameplay Details:

1. How to Participate: Reach Adventure Rank 35 to automatically receive the quest "To the Winds of Freedom." Complete the quest to obtain the gadget "Repertoire of Myriad Melodies" and access the performance interface for gameplay.

2. Gameplay Rules: Repertoire of Myriad Melodies contains a library of music scores that can be used for performances. Once you've activated Repertoire of Myriad Melodies, you can exchange scores as well as collect and play music created by other players.

3. Official Albums and Scores: From time to time, new music albums will be added to Repertoire of Myriad Melodies, and their official scores will be released.

4. Hall of Creation: Use the Score Exchange function to create scores of your own and try ones created by other players.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Natlan's Zakan's Street Bites: Magmic Ode

○ Liyue NPC Lianfang: Qingxin Flower Cake

○ Event Reward: Drunken Plums in Snow

New Character Specialty Dishes:

○ Mavuika's specialty: Hymn of Gathered Flame

○ Citlali's specialty: Secret Art

○ Lan Yan's specialty: Jade-Cut Flowers

Adds new "Mortal Travails: Series V," "Challenger: Series X," and "Repertoire of Myriad Melodies" Achievement categories, and adds new Achievements to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds Set 37 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Mavuika: Sun-Crowned": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Mavuika

"Citlali: Opalstar": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Citlali

"Lan Yan: Silver Swallow": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Lan Yan

"Achievement: All-Seeing": Reward for completing all achievements under "Mortal Travails: Series V"

"Achievement: Blaze": Reward for completing all achievements under "Challenger: Series X"

"Achievement: Repertoire": Reward for completing all achievements under "Repertoire of Myriad Melodies"

"Travel Notes: The Flame Renewed": Reward obtained via the BP system

New Item: "Scroll of the Fiery Firmament": Purchased from Tubby the teapot spirit via the Realm Depot > Riches of the Realm after completing "Home of Hot Springs" in Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn."

New Serenitea Pot Realm Layout: "Tletl Ilhuicatl": Unlocked after using the item "Scroll of the Fiery Firmament."

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Mualani, Clorinde, and their corresponding Talent cards. Corresponding invitation duel and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Action Cards: "Demon-Warrior's Feather Mask," "Qucusaurus," "People of the Springs," "Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame," "Abundant Phlogiston," and "Puff Pops" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Game of Wits":

(1) During The Forge Realm's Temper: Game of Wits, some stages will have special victory and defeat conditions. Adeptly adapt your tactics to complete the challenge and avoid the conditions for defeat!

(2) Within The Forge Realm's Temper: Game of Wits event stages, there will also be special rules that can easily exert influence on the tempo of the match. Fully utilizing these special rules will contribute greatly to your success.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 5.3 update, the first season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on February 1, 2025.

Required Elemental Types: Pyro, Hydro, and Anemo

Opening Characters: Hu Tao, Gaming, Mona, Xingqiu, Venti, and Shikanoin Heizou

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Clorinde, Ororon, Citlali, and Yun Jin

After the first season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Tartaglia, Yae Miko, Bennett, and Lynette will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

Envisaged Echoes Gameplay Update:

After the Version 5.3 update, new challenge stages and Echo cosmetics for Ganyu and Kaedehara Kazuha will be added.

Spiral Abyss

After the Version 5.3 update, Phase 1 of the Spiral Abyss will be updated on January 16.

New Ley Line Disorder Adjustment: Different Ley Line Disorders will occur based on the "Divergence" on each "Floor."

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members receive a 75% Pyro DMG Bonus.

◆ New Floor 12 Ley Line Disorder:

• First Half: Pyro DMG dealt by all party members' Normal Attacks increased by 75%.

• Second Half: All party members' Nightsoul-aligned DMG increased by 75%.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Scorching Moon

After a party member triggers a Pyro-related reaction, a shockwave will be unleashed at the character's position, dealing True DMG to nearby opponents. This effect can be triggered once every 3s.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Quests

Adds the function to lower the difficulty of some Domains in Archon Quests. This can be activated when all characters in the current party are defeated or when you exit the Domain (before this update, this feature was only available when challenging powerful opponents).

● Open World

After the version update, after obtaining rewards from Bosses consuming 40 Original Resin, you no longer have to teleport away and wait for the Boss to respawn. Bosses will respawn right away in their original location.

Adds a new Teleport Waypoint to the Tezcatepetonco Range in Natlan due to the addition of the new Boss (The number of unlocked Teleport Waypoints required to complete the achievement "Scaling the Scorching Sacred Mountain (II)" has also been adjusted. For Travelers who have already completed this achievement, after the update, the achievement completion status will remain unchanged).

Adjusts the Pyroculus and Wind Current height in one location in Natlan's Ochkanatlan area, allowing for a smoother experience when attempting the corresponding challenge.

● Artifacts

The "Artifact Salvage" function will generate Sanctifying Essence and Sanctifying Unction in a ratio of 1:4 (the total Artifact EXP generated remains the same).

After the version update, the "Character > Artifact" interface will highlight recommended Artifact Affixes for the current character (data is sourced from recently active players).

In the "Artifact > Enhance" interface and when comparing Artifacts in the "Character > Artifact" interface, you will be able to see the number of times each Minor Affix has been enhanced.

Adds a shortcut to navigate to the corresponding Domains of Blessing when using the "Source" feature for Artifact sets in the "Character > Artifacts > Recommended Sets" interface.

Adds the option to sort Artifacts by their recommended order to the "Character > Artifact > Sort" interface. This can be used to arrange Artifacts based on their recommended Affixes for characters and Artifact slots.

Adds the option to pin and mark recommended Affixes to the "Character > Artifact > Sort" interface.

Adds the option to filter based on recommended Artifact sets or Affixes to the "Character > Artifact > Artifact Recommendations" interface.

Increases the number of Artifacts that can be stored in the Inventory from 1,800 to 2,100.

● Reputation

Adds the "Quick Accept" feature to Natlan's "Tribe Reputation > Bounties" interface.

The "Bounties" and "Supply Notices" of Natlan's "Tribe Reputation" now display the Reputation rewards that can be obtained after completing relevant objectives.

In Natlan's "Tribe Reputation > Bounties" interface, the "Accept Bounty" screen now shows the range of rewards that can be obtained.

Optimizes the display of the "List of Recommended Quest(s)" pop-up of Tribal Chronicles in Natlan's "Tribe Reputation" interface.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes and standardizes the descriptions of effects for certain cards.

● Serenitea Pot

After the version update, Furnishings and Furnishing Blueprints introduced from Version 3.0 to 3.8 will be sold at a discount in the Realm Depot.

● Training Guide

Optimizes the layout of the "Training Guide" interface to display more detailed information. When Domains that correspond to a character's Talent Materials or Weapon Ascension Materials are available for a limited time, a tag will appear to notify the player.

Reduces the Adventure Rank requirements for certain tabs in the "Training Guide" interface.

Adjusts the requirement that needs to be fulfilled to disable the "Training Guide" prompt (from "Complete the World Level 6 Ascension Quest unlocked at Adventure Rank 45" to "Reach Adventure Rank 50"). The hint will appear when the party is defeated in battle, or when the corresponding challenge difficulty is much higher than the strength of the party.

Adds a button to open the "Training Guide" to the "Character > Attribute" interface.

● Other Systems

After the version update, Travelers with World Levels 8 and 9 will be able to freely enter each other's worlds in Co-Op Mode. The enemy levels and drops will be based on the World Level of the host player.

● Audio

Optimizes the sound effects of indwelt Qucusaurus when gliding.

Adds new voice-over lines for Ororon for entering the Spiritspeaking state and interacting with relevant objects.

Optimizes the sound performance of certain objects and interfaces.

Optimizes the performance of transitioning background music when switching between certain areas in Natlan.

Optimizes the phrasing of the Japanese voice-over for Hu Tao's voice line "About Baizhu" in the "Character > Voice-Over" interface.

● Other

Adjusts the text descriptions of certain "Tutorials" in Natlan.

Optimizes the effects of Echo cosmetics: When a moving character comes to a stop, their Echo cosmetic visual effects will gradually fade to appear more natural.

When the event "Springtime Charms" begins, "Xiao Lanterns" will be permanently sold by the Liyue NPC "Granny Shan."

After the version update, any "Kaboom Box" placed in the environment will disappear after characters enter combat.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby when certain Bosses respawn, their respawn location could be abnormally affected by Geo Constructs.

Fixes an issue whereby when challenging the "Millennial Pearl Seahorse" and "Guardian of Apep's Oasis," there was a chance they wouldn't take DMG from Electro-Charged reactions.

Fixes an issue whereby when challenging the "Polychrome Tri-Stars," there was a small chance that they would not be able to activate their Elemental Buff after being knocked airborne when activating their Elemental Buff.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby when Chasca used her Elemental Burst in Co-Op Mode, the model of her "Soulsniper: Ritual Staff" would appear abnormally large to other players.

Fixes an issue whereby after Chasca used her Elemental Skill to enter a hovering state, her animations would be abnormal in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby after triggering Chasca's Nightsoul Transmission, there was a chance that Nightsoul points would deplete abnormally fast.

Fixes an issue whereby there was certain incorrect layering of some lighting effects in Gaming's "Thespian Tricks: Perfect Partner," causing them to pass through the character abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby after Ororon leaped into the air and entered Aiming Mode, certain skill icons would be displayed abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby when Ororon repeatedly entered the Spiritspeaking state and interacted with corresponding objects while leaping, there was a small chance of causing the leaping state to end prematurely.

Fixes an issue whereby when holding Jump to have Ororon leap into the air, the Stamina consumed would not be affected by other Stamina consumption effects.

Fixes an issue whereby when holding Jump to have Ororon leap into the air, the animation of the character's right arm would be abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby when Ororon used his Elemental Burst, there was a chance that the summoned "Supersonic Oculus" would be blurry when playing on Android devices at lowest graphics settings.

● System

Fixes an issue whereby the material "Glowing Hornshroom" was incorrectly categorized in Creatures of the Realm as a seed, it has been corrected to "Glowing Hornshroom Spores."

Fixes an issue whereby certain branching dialog options were missing from Cyno's Story Quest in the "Travel Log" interface.

Fixes an issue whereby certain branching dialog options were missing from Archon Quests Chapter II: Act I and Chapter II: Act II in the "Travel Log" interface.

● Open World

Fixes an issue whereby under specific circumstances, after completing a Warrior's Challenge near the Masters of the Night-Wind in the "Tezcatepetonco Range" area, there was a chance that the reward treasure chest would abnormally disappear and would only reappear after completing the challenge again.

Fixes an issue whereby under specific circumstances, in the World Quest "The Flowing Primal Flame," during the quest objective "Collecting Burning Firestone," on the floating island northeast of the altar, the enemies near the mechanism would abnormally disappear, leaving no way to unlock the mechanism.

Fixes an issue whereby under certain circumstances, there was a chance that one group of enemies would refresh abnormally in an area near the Snow-Covered Path in Dragonspine.

Fixes an issue whereby in Inazuma, certain Electro Seelies and treasure chests, although fulfilling the detection criteria of the "Electro Treasure Compass," would fail to be detected.

Fixes an issue whereby when characters entered the Nightsoul's Blessing state and used Bouncy Mushrooms to jump, they would take Fall DMG abnormally.

● Audio

Fixes errors with the Chinese voice-overs for certain quests.

Fixes an issue whereby under specific circumstances, after using Kaedehara Kazuha's Elemental Skill followed by a Plunging Attack, there was a small chance that the relevant sound and controller vibration effects would be missing.

Fixes an issue whereby when Ororon leaped into the air, voice lines related to wind gliders would incorrectly trigger (despite the character was not using a wind glider at the moment).

Fixes an issue whereby in the "Character > Attribute" interface, after triggering Chasca's chat voice lines, they would continue to play abnormally after switching to other secondary interfaces.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a mistake in the Japanese text and Japanese voice-over for Xilonen in the quest "Wailing Cacophony" of the Tribal Chronicles Act III "A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks."

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby if the character who equips Chain Breaker is from Natlan, when the Weapon effects were triggered, the character count would not include the equipping character.

Fixes an issue whereby when under specific circumstances, when indwelling an Iktomisaur and jumping, the hang time while airborne would be abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby the Furnishing "Companion Gift - 'Resolve to Protect'" had an incorrect color.

Fixes a text error in the tutorial for "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant."

Fixes a text error in the tutorial for "Radiant Pillars."

Fixes an issue whereby some content in the readable item "Artisan's Memo (II)" was not displayed normally.

Fixes an issue whereby when using Nahida's Elemental Skill to interact with Candlecap Mushrooms, the relevant icons would be missing abnormally.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes certain inconsistencies between voice-overs and their corresponding lines in Neuvillette's Story Quest.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts Elemental Skill DMG dealt by the Character Card "Fatui Mirror Maiden": Hydro DMG dealt is adjusted from 2 to 3.

Adjusts the effect of the Summon, "Dandelion Field," created by the Elemental Burst of the Character Card "Jean": The number of Usages is adjusted from 2 to 3.

Adjusts the effect of the Summon, "Bake-Kurage," created by the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Sangonomiya Kokomi": The Usages can now stack, up to a maximum of 4.

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Yae Miko": Adds the effect "If there is already 1 Sesshou Sakura in play, then increase the DMG dealt by +1. (Max +1)"

Adjusts the Elemental Skill DMG of the Character Card "Abyss Herald: Wicked Torrents": Hydro DMG dealt is adjusted from 2 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost of the Talent Card "To Ward Weakness" of the Character Card "Kuki Shinobu": The Electro Dice cost is adjusted from 3 to 4.

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Rosaria": "...creates 2 stacks of Scope Out Soft Spots" is adjusted to "...creates 1 stack of Scope Out Soft Spots."

Adjusts the effect of the Summon, "Evercold Frostlance," created by the Elemental Burst of the Character Card "Rosaria": "...create 1 stack of Scope Out Soft Spots" is adjusted to "create 2 stacks of Scope Out Soft Spots."

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

[gloomlet]

Gloomlet’s TS4 Script, Gameplay & Replacement Mods

So I decided to compile a list of all the script/gameplay mods that i use or have used in my game. This was mainly made for my personal use, but i am sure it could be helpful to other people too!

Fully Updated - 1/22/2025

Basic & Recommended!

TS4 Mod Manager ui cheats extension mc command center Carl's Sims 4 Gameplay Overhaul Relationship & Pregnancy Overhaul Wonderful Whims The Mood Pack Mod First Impressions Contextual Social Interactions Simulation Lag Fix Teleport Any Sim Better Exceptions

CAS Mods

Stand still in CAS More Traits in CAS Tidy details in CAS More CAS columns Lifetime Aspirations Child Aspirations Set Housewife - Aspiration Unlimited Likes + Dislikes Preferences Plus Homebody - Preferences 100+ CAS Traits Resized Facial Piercings More Teeth!

Replacements & Retextures

Fan Art Maps Map Replacements Overhaul Clean UI Sims 1 & 2 Font LIS Fonts Fluffy Clouds (Ghibli Clouds) Feet replacement Hand replacement Bra + Panty Replacement better babies Baby bottle replacement Default Cutlery! Cute Kitchenware Replacement Boxing Gloves Aquarium Fish Recolor paint it up mod A brighter mop Selfie Override Phone call animations Extended Phone Calls

Objects Phone Replacement Another phone replacement Phone wallpaper & icons Smaller dollhouses Switch Controller + console Game controller PS1 console pc game override Remote control sponge & spray override Another Sponge & Spray override

Electric Toothbrush Razor Bassinet override infant rug +  infant tub child drawing replacement more drawing replacements weather controller Cats & Dogs Fireplace Headphone/earbud override Old-fashioned Suitcase The slightly nicer Tree House Fireplace Lil Campers Light

Replaced + more Interactions Bed Cuddles Better Woohoo Reactions Realistic Reactions Brush Teeth From Toothbrush Holders Wake-up animation Greetings Offer Rose override

Visuals & effects No overhead effects No zzz No object highlight no plumbob please Smaller Mosaic Minimalist CC Icon More Holiday icons

Gameplay!

Playable Pets Slower infant needs Expanded Mermaids Who's Knocking More Visitors No Bad Microwave Buffs Memory Panel Smarter Pie Menu: Searchable Smart Sim Randomizer Play Chess on any computer Strangerville Story toggle

Careers & Jobs Career Overhaul New Careers Simdeed Recruitment Services Flex Part-Time Recruitment Agency Game Developer Career Ultimate Nursing Career Modeling Career Tumbling Tots Daycare Career Shear Brilliance - Cosmetology Seasonal Odd Jobs - Autumn Odd Job Overhaul Modeling and Makeup Odd Jobs Babysitting Gigs Freelance Chef

Education Uni Tweaks Education Overhaul Uni Application Overhaul University costs more Choose Your Roommate Long Distance Learning No Uni Housing Restrictions Uni Aspirations School Lunch Override Longer or Shorter Degree Requirements

Cooking + Food Food Retexture Pack 1, Pack 2, Pack 3 Breakfast Retextures Dinner Food Retextures Pizza Retexture Grannies Cookbook Oni’s Recipe Pack + more recipes Chef Buffet S’more Options Srsly's Complete Cooking Overhaul Dine Out Reloaded Delivery Services Sims Eat and Drink Faster Porto Luminoso Market Cutouts Buyable Cakes Functional Mixer HCH Mixer & Cookbook Functional Air fryer Functional Blender Functional Cookie jar Another Cookie Jar Functional Toaster Functional Cake Stand Functional Rice cooker Functional Pressure Cooker Boba Tea Add-ons Functional Beer Functional Frozen Ice Cart

Pregnancy Realistic Pregnancy Cherished Moments - Pregnancy Science Baby Tweak

Services & Apps Sim National Bank “SimDa” Dating App Exchange Store

Interactions Meaningful Stories Cute Romance Drama Mod Autonomous Go Steady and Propose Autonomous Break Up and Divorce Dynamic Teen Life Parent-Child Relationships Let's Get Fit Modpack Sumba Fitness

Functional Items Playful Toddler Pack Toddler Play Telephone Little Chef’s Toy Kitchen Void Critter Tablet Functional Pool Slide

Functional Toy Bin Functional Hopscotch Functional Broom Functional Paper Sketchpad Functional Drumkit Functional Spiral Staircases In Your Safe Piggy Banks Film Reaper Movie Theater Left End Counter Dishwaser

Random Small mods

Loading and CAS screens

Free Sims 4, Free Loading Screen Bonehilda Loading Screen Custom Color loading screens Lights Out Loading Screen The Blues Collection Loading Screen Lin Sims Loading Screens San Sequoia Loading Screens Abstract Art + Landscape Loading Screens H-O-B & Sulani Loading Screens Autumn Loading Screens Pink Kitten Animated Loading Screen Life is Strange Loading Screens Cloudy TS2 CAS Background Ocean Waves CAS Room Old School - CAS Room Modern Minimalism CAS Room Plumbob replacements Crystal Loading Screens

lighting mods

sunblind lighting + installation Milk Thistle Better in-game lighting Gentle CAS lighting

[acealistair]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard GameInformer Article Transcribed

I saw some people lamenting that they had no way to read the GameInformer article, and while MVP dalishious posted screenshots of the article here, I figured that might be a little difficult to read, plus people with screen readers can't read it of course. So I've gone ahead and transcribed it! Full thing below the cut!

As a note, I transcribed it without correcting any typos, capitalization errors, etc. that the article itself had (as much as it pained me, omg the author capitalizes so many things that shouldn't be and vice versa). There may be some typos on my part as I did this as quickly as I could, so apologies in advance for any you might encounter.

I have also created a plot-spoiler-free version of the article for those who would like to learn more about the mechanics of the game without learning more plot info than they want!

Throughout my research and preparation for a trip to BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, office for this cover story, I kept returning to the idea that its next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly subtitled Dreadwolf) is releasing at a critical moment for the storied developer. The previous installment, Dragon Age: Inquisition, hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC a decade ago. It was the win BioWare needed, following the 2012 release of Mass Effect 3 with its highly controversial and (for many) disappointing ending. Inquisition launched two years later, in 2014, to rave reviews and, eventually, various Gameo the Year awards, almost as if a reminder of what the studio was capable of.

Now, in 2024, coincidentally, the next Dragon Age finds itself in a similar position. BioWare attempted a soft reboot of Mass Effect with Andromeda in 2017, largely seen as a letdown among the community, and saw its first live-service multiplayer attempt in 2019’s Anthem flounder in the tricky waters of the genre; it aimed for a No Man’s Sky-like turnaround with Anthem Next, but that rework was canceled in 2021. Like its predecessor, BioWare’s next Dragon Age installment is not only a new release in a beloved franchise, but is another launch with the pressure of BioWare’s prior misses; a game fans hope will remind them the old BioWare is still alive today.

“Having been in this industry for 25 years, you see hits and misses, and it’s all about building off of those hits and learning from those misses,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay, who’s been with the studio since January 2020, tells me.

As McKay gives me a tour of the office, I can’t help but notice how much Anthem is scattered around it. More than Mass Effect, more than Dragon Age, there’s a lot of Anthem - posters, real-life replicas of its various Javelins, wallpaper, and more. Recent BioWare news stories tell of leads and longtime studio veterans laid off and others departing voluntarily. Veilguard’s development practically began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When I ask McKay about the tumultuousness of BioWare and how he, as the studio manager, makes the team feel safe in the product it’s developing, he says it’s about centering on the creative vision. “[When] we have that relentless pursuit for quality, and we have passion and people in the right roles, a lot of the other stuff you’re talking about just fades into the background.”

That’s a sentiment echoed throughout the team I speak to: Focus on what makes a BioWare game great and let Veilguard speak for itself. Though I had no expectations going in - it’s been 10 years since the last Drag Age, after all, and BioWare has been cagey about showing this game publicly - my expectations have been surpassed. This return to Thedas, the singular continent of the franchise, feels like both a warm welcome for returning fans and an impressive entry point for first-time players.

New Age, New Name

At the start of each interview, I address a dragon-sized elephant in the room with the game’s leads. What was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Why?

“These games are reflections of the teams that make them, and as part of that, it means we learn a lot about what the heart and soul of the game really is as we’re developing it,” Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me. “We quickly learned and realized that the absolute beating heart of this game is these authentic, diverse companions. And when we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure they still represent the game we’re trying to build.”

Dreadwolf no longer did that, but each member of BioWare I speak to tells me The Veilguard does. And while I was initially abrasive to the change - lore aside, Dreadwolf is simply a cool name - I warmed up to The Veilguard.

Solas, a Loki-esque trickster member of the Elven pantheon of gods known as the Dread Wolf, created the Veil long ago while attempting to free the elves from their slave-like status in Thedas. This Veil is a barrier between the magical Fade and Thedas, banishing Elven gods and removing Elven immortality from the world. But players didn’t know that in Inquisition, where he is introduced as a mage ally and companion. However, at the end of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, which sets the stage for Veilguard, we learn in a shocking twist that Solas wants to destroy the Veil and restore Elves to their former glory. However, doing so would bring chaos to Thedas, and those who call it home, the people who eventually become The Veilguard, want to stop him.

“There’s an analogy I like to use, which is, ‘If you want to carve an elephant out of marble, you just take a piece of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant,’” Veilguard creative director John Epler says. “As we were building this game, it became really clear that it was less that we were trying to make The Veilguard and more like The Veilguard was taking shape as we built the game. Solas is still a central figure in it. He’s still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team.

“[We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team.”

Creating Your Rook

Veilguard’s character creator is staggeringly rich, with a dizzying number of customizable options. Busche tells me that inclusivity is at the heart of it, noting that she believes everyone can create someone who represents them on-screen.

There are four races to choose from when customizing Rook, the new playable lead - Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves - and hundreds of options to customize your character beyond that. You can select pronouns separately from gender and adjust physical characteristics like height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how crooked your nose is, and so much more. There must be hundreds of sliders to customize these body proportions and features like skin hue, tone, melanin, and just about anything else you might adjust on a character. Oh, and there’s nudity in Veilguard, too, which I learn firsthand while customizing my Rook.

“The technology has finally caught up to our ambition,” Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes tells me as we decide on my warrior-class Qunari’s backstory, which affects faction allegiance, in-game dialogue, and reputation standing - we choose the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune.

Notably, instead of a warrior class, we could have chosen mage or rogue. All three classes have unique specializations, bespoke skill trees, and special armors, too. And though our Rook is aligned with the Lords of Fortune faction, there are others to choose from including the Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, The Mourn Watch, and more. There is some flexibility in playstyle thanks to specializations, but your class largely determines the kind of actions you can perform in combat.

“Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin,” BioWare core lead and Mass effect executive producer Michael Gamble tells me in contrast to Inquisition’s destiny-has-chosen-you-characterization.

“Rook is here because they choose to be, and that speaks to the kind of character that we’ve built.” Busche adds, “Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, ‘I guess that’s me.’”

Beyond the on-paper greatness of this character creator, its customizability speaks to something repeated throughout my BioWare visit: Veilguard is a single-player, story-driven RPG. Or in other words, the type of game that made BioWare as storied as it is. McKay tells me the team explored a multiplayer concept early in development before scratching it to get back to BioWare basics. The final game will feature zero multiplayer and no microtransactions.

Happy to hear that, I pick our first and last name, then one of four voices, with a pitch shifter for each, too, and we’re off to Minrathous.

Exploring Tevinter For The First Time

Throughout the Dragon Age series, parts of Thedas are discussed by characters and referenced by lore material but left to the imagination of players as they can’t visit them. Veilguard immediately eschews this, setting its opening prologue mission in Minrathous, the capital of the  Tevinter Empire. Frankly, I’m blown away by how good it looks. It’s my first time seeing Veilguard in action and my first look at a Dragon Age game in nearly a decade. Time has treated this series well, and so has technology.

Epler, who’s coming up on 17 years at BioWare, acknowledges that the franchise has always been at the will of its engine. Dragon Age: Origins and II’s Eclipse Engine worked well for the time, but today, they show their age. Inquisition was BioWare’s first go at Ea’s proprietary Frostbite engine - mind you, an engine designed for first-person shooters and decidedly not multi-character RPGs - and the team struggled there, too. Epler and Busche agree Veilguard is the first RPG where BioWare feels fully in command of Frostbite and, more generally, its vision for this world.

We begin inside a bar. Rook and Varric are looking for Neve Gallus, a detective mage somewhere in Minrathous. The first thing players will do once Veilguard begins is select a dialogue option, something the team says speaks to their vision of a story-forward, choice-driven adventure. After a quick bar brawl cutscene that demonstrates Rook’s capabilities, there’s another dialogue choice, and different symbols here indicate the type of tone you can roll with. There’s a friendly, snarky, and rough-and-tough direct choice, and I later learn of a more romantically inclined “emotional” response. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you’re welcome to ignore this option. However, your companions can romance each other, so giving someone the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm embrace of another. We learn Neve is in Dumat Plaza and head into the heart of Minrathous.

Rhodes explains BioWare’s philosophy for designing this city harkens back to a quick dialogue from Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus. Upon entering Halamshiral’s Winter Palace, the largest venue in Dragon Age history at that point, Dorian notes that it’s cute, adorable even, alluding to his Tevinter heritage. If Dorian thinks the largest venue in Dragon Age history is cute and adorable, what must the place he’s from be like? “It’s like this,” Rhodes says as we enter Minrathous proper in-game.

Minrathous is huge, painted in magical insignia that looks like cyberpunk-inspired neon city signs and brimming with detail. Knowing it’s a city run by mages and built entirely upon magic, Rhodes says the team let its imagination run wild. The result is the most stunning and unique city in the series. Down a wide, winding pathway, there’s a pub with a dozen NPCs - Busche says BioWare used Veilguard’s character creator to make each in-world NPC except for specific characters like recruitable companions - and a smart use of verticality, scaling, and wayfinding to push us toward the main attraction: Solas, attempting to tear down the Veil.

All hell is breaking loose. Pride Demons are rampaging through the city. Considering Pride Demons were bosses in prior games, seeing them roaming freely in the prologue of Veilguard speaks to the stakes of this opener. Something I appreciate throughout our short journey through Minrathous to its center below is the cinematography at play. As a Qunari, my character stands tall, and Rhodes says the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters loom over those below. On the flip side, the camera adjusts for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature compared to those around them.

This, coupled with movie-liked movement through the city as BioWare showcases the chaos happening at the hands of Solas’ Veil-break ritual, creates a cinematic start that excited me, and I’m not even hands-on with the game.

Eventually, we reach Neve, who has angered some murderous blood mages, and rescue her from danger. Or rather, help… barely. Neve is quite capable, and her well-acted dialogue highlights that. Together, Varric, returning character Lace Harding, who is helping us stop Solas and is now a companion, Rook, and Neve defeat some demons. They then take on some Venatori Cultists seizing this chaotic opportunity to take over the city and other enemies before making it to Solas’ hideout. As we traverse deeper and deeper into this hideout, more of Solas’ murals appear on the walls, and things get more Elven. Rhodes says this is because you’re symbolically going back in time, as Minrathous is a city built by mages on the bones of what was originally the home of Elves.

At the heart of his hideout, we discover Solas’ personal Eluvian. This magical mirror-like structure allows the gang to teleport (and mechanically fast-travel) to Arlathan Forest, where Solas is secretly performing the ritual (while its effects pour out into Minrathous).

Here, we encounter a dozen or so demons, which BioWare has fully redesigned on the original premise of these monstrous creatures. Rhodes says they’re creatures of feeling and live and die off the emotions around them. As such, they are just a floating nervous system, push into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find.

I won’t spoil the sequence of events here, but we stop Solas’ ritual and seemingly save the world… for now. Rook passes out moments later and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to the voice of none  other than Solas. He explains a few drops of Rook’s blood interacted with the ritual, connecting them to the Fade forever. He also says he was attempting to move the Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, part of the Evanuris or Elven gods of ancient times, to a new prison because the one he had previously constructed was failing. Unfortunately, Solas is trapped in the Fade by our doing, and these gods are now free. It’s up to Rook to stop them; thus, the stage for our adventure is set.

The Veilguard Who’s Who

While we learned a lot about returning character but first-time companion Lace Harding, ice mage private detective Neve Gallus, and veil jumper Bellara Lutara, BioWare shared some additional details about other companions Rook will meet later in the game. Davrin is a charming Grey Warden who is also an excellent monster hunter; Emmrich is a member of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch and a necromancer with a skeleton assistant named Manfred; Lucanis is a pragmatic assassin whose bloodline descends from the criminal House of Crows organization; And Taash is a dragon hunter allied with the piratic Lords of Fortune. All seven of these characters adorn this Game Informer issue, with Bellara up front and center in the spotlight.

The Lighthouse

After their encounter with Solas, Rook wakes up with Harding and Neve in the lair of the Dread Wolf himself, a special magical realm in the Fade called the Lighthouse. It’s a towering structure centered amongst various floating islands. Epler says, much like Skyhold in Inquisition, the Lighthouse is where your team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures throughout the campaign. It also becomes more functional and homier as you do. Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard, although they aren’t quite referring to themselves as that just yet.

Because it was Solas’ home base of operations, it’s gaudy, with his fresco murals adorning various walls, greenery hanging from above, and hues of purple and touches of gold everywhere. Since it’s in the Fade, a realm of dreams that responds to your world state and emotion, the Lighthouse reflects the chaos and disrepair of the Thedas you were in moments ago. I see a clock symbol over a dialogue icon in the distance, which signals an optional dialogue option. We head there, talk to Neve, select a response to try our hand at flirting, and then head to the dining hall.

A plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table. Rhodes says this is both a funny (and sad) look at Solas’ isolated existence and an example of the detail BioWare’s art team has put into Veilguard. “It’s a case of letting you see the story,” he says. “It’s like when you go to a friend's house and see their bedroom for the first time; you get to learn more about them.” From the dining hall, we gather the not-quite-Veilguard in the library, which Busche says in the central area of the Lighthouse and where your party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. The team decides it must reach the ritual site back in Arlathan Forest, and Busche says I’m missing unique dialogue options here because I’m Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue.

With our next move decided, we head to Solas’ Eluvian to return to Arlathan Forest and the ritual site. However, it’s not fully functional without Solas, and while it returns us to Arlathan Forest, it’s not exactly where we want to go. A few moments later, we’re back in the Arlathan Forest, and just before a demon-infested suit of mechanized armor known as a Sentinel can attack, two new NPCs appear to save us: Strife and Irelin. Harding recognizes them, something Dragon Age comic readers might know about. They’re experts in ancient elven magic and part of the new Veil Jumpers faction. The ensuing cutscene, where we learn Strife and Irelin need help finding someone named Bellara Lutara, is long, with multiple dialogue options. That’s something I’m noticing with Veilguard, too - there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes.

Busche says that’s intentional, too. “For Rook, [this story’s about] what does it meant to be a leader,” she says. “You’re defining their leadership style with your choices.” Knowing that Rook is the leader of the Veilguard, I’m excited to see how far this goes. From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out. That’s demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each companion’s character screen.

Redefining Combat Once More

Bellara is deep within Arlathan Forest, and following the prolgoue’s events, something is up here. Three rings of massive rocks fly through the air, protecting what appears to be a central fortress. Demon Sentinels plague the surrounding lands, and after loading up a new save, we’re in control of a human mage.

Following the trend of prior Dragon Age games, Veilguard has completed the series’ shift from tactical strategy to real-time action, but fret not: a tactical pause-and-play mechanic returns to satiate fans who remember the series’ origins (pun intended). Though I got a taste of combat in the prologue, Veilguard’s drastic departure from all that came before it is even more apparent here.

Busche says player complete every swing in real-time, with special care taken to animation swing-through and canceling. There's a dash, a parry, the ability to charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows you to use potions at your discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even “bookmark” combos with a quick dash, which means you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward. It looks even cooler than it sounds.

Like any good action game, there is a handful of abilities to customize your kit. And, if you want to maintain that real-time action feel, you can use them on the fly, so long as you take cooldowns into effect. But Veilguard’s pause-and-play gameplay mechanic, similar to Inquisition’s without the floating camera view, lets you bring things to halt for a healthy but optional dose of strategy.

In this screen, which essentially pauses the camera and pulls up a flashy combat wheel that highlights you and your companions’ skills, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize with synergies and combos, all while targeting specific enemies. Do what you need to here, let go of the combat wheel, and watch your selections play out. Busche says she uses the combat wheel to dole out her companions’ attacks and abilities while sticking to the real-time action for her player-controlled Rook. On the other hand, Epler says he almost exclusively uses the combat wheel to dish out every ability and combo.

Busche says each character will play the same, in that you execute light and heavy attacks with hte same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select. But a sword-and-shield warrior, like we used in the prolgoue, can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas our human mage uses that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks. The warrior can parry incoming attacks, which can stagger enemies. The rogue gets a larger parry window. Our mage, however, can’t parry at all. Instead, they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically so long as you have the mana to sustain it.

“What I see from Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2021 before joining the Veilguard team last year as a consultant, tells me. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in the party.”

“This is really the best Dragon Age game that I’ve ever played,” he adds, noting his bias. “This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat, and aren’t making compromises.”

Watching Busche take down sentinels and legions of darkspawn on-screen, I can already sense Veilguard’s combat will likely end up my favorite in the series, although admittedly, as a fan of action games, I’m an easy sell here. It’s flashy, quick, and thanks to different types of health bars, like a greenish-blue one that represents barrier and is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks, a decent amount of strategy, even if you don’t use the pause-and-play combo wheel. Like the rest of the game, too, it’s gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack our mage unleashes. Though I’m seeing the game run on a powerful PC, which is sure to be the best showcase of Veilguard, Epler tells me the game looks amazing on consoles - he’s been playing it on PlayStation 5 and enjoying it in both its fidelity and performance modes, but I’ll have to take his word for it.

Pressing Start

The start or pause screen is as important to a good RPG as the game outside the menus. Veilguard’s contains your map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can cross-compare equipment and equip new gear here for Rook and your companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. You won’t find minutiae here, “just real numbers,” Busche says. That means a new unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal (if you’re a mage). As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization, of which there are three for each class, complete with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy here is “about changing the way you play, not statistical minutiae.”

Companion Customization

You can advance your bonds by helping companions on their own personal quests and by including them in your party for main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. Busche says the choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members. And with seven companions, there’s plenty to customize, from bespoke gear to abilities and more. Though each companion has access to five abilities, you can only take three into combat, so it’s important to strategize different combos and synergies within your party. Rhodes says beyond  this kind of customizable characterization, each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on,” Rhodes says.

In Entropy’s Grasp

As we progress through the forest and the current “In Entropy’s Grasp” mission, we finally find Bellara. She’s a veil jumper, the first companion you meet and recruit in-game (unlike Neve, who automatically joins), and the centerpiece of this issue’s cover image. Because our mage’s background is Veil Jumper, we get some unique dialogue. Bellara explains we’re all trapped in a Veil Bubble, and there’s no way out once you pass through it. Despite the dire situation, Bellara is bubbly, witty, and charming.

“When designing companions, they’re the load-bearing pillars for everything,” Rhodes says. “They’re the face of their faction, and in this case [with Bellara], their entire area of the world. She’s your window into Arlathan Forest.” Rhodes describes her as a sweetheart and nerd for ancient elven artifacts. As such ,she’s dressed more like an academic than a combat expert, although her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies.

Unlike Neve, who uses ice magic like our Rook and can slow down time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you, something Busche says Dragon Age fans have been desperate to have in a game. Busche says if you don’t direct Neve and Bellara, they’re fully independent and will attack on their own. But synergizing your team will add to the fun and strategy of combat. Bellara’s electric magic is effective against Sentinels, which is great because we currently only have access to ice. However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels.

As we progress through Arlathan Forest, we encounter more and more darkspawn. Bellara mentions the darkspawn have never been this far before because the underground Deep Roads, where they usually escape from, aren’t nearby. However, with blighted Elven gods roaming the world, and thanks to Blight’s radiation-like spread, it’s a much bigger threat in Veilguard than in any Dragon Age before it.

I continue to soak in the visuals of Veilguard with Arlathan Forest’s elven ruins, dense greenery, and disgusting Blight tentacles and pustules; it’s perhaps the most impressive aspect of my time seeing the game, although everything else is making a strong impression, too. I am frustrated about having to watch the game rather than play it, to be honest. I’m in love with the art style, which is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable, a welcome reprieve from the recent gritty Game of Thrones trend in fantasy games. Rhodes says that’s the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic.

“The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.”

Busche, Epler, and Rhodes warn me that Arlathan Forest’s whimsy will starkly contrast to other areas. They promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Busche likens it to a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. For now, the spunky and effervescent Bellara is that thread.

As we progress deeper into the forest, Bellara spots a floating fortress and thinks the artifact needed to destroy the Veil Bubble is in there. To reach it, though, wem ust remove the floating rock rings, and Bellara’s unique ability, Tinker, can do just that by interacting with a piece of ancient elven technology nearby. Busche says Rook can acquire abilities like Tinker later to complete such tasks in instances where Bellara, for example, isn’t in the party.

Bellara must activate three of these in Arlathan Forest to reach the floating castle, and each one we activate brings forth a slew of sentinels, demons, and darkspawn to defeat. Busche does so with ease, showcasing high-level gameplay by adding three stacks of arcane build-up to create an Arcane Bomb on an enemy, which does devastating damage after being hit by a heavy attack. Now, she begins charging a heavy attack on her magical staff, then switches to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks, then back to the staff to charge it some more and unleash a heavy attack.

After a few more combat encounters, including one against a sentinel that’s “Frenzied,” which means it hits harder, moves faster, and has more health, we finally reach the center of the temple. Within is a particular artifact known as the Nadas Dirthalen, which Bellara says means “the inevitability of knowledge.” Before we can advance with it, a darkspawn Ogre boss attacks. It hits hard, has plenty of unblockable, red-coded attacks, and a massive shield we must take down first. However, it’s weak to fire, and our new fire staff is perfect for the situation.

After taking down this boss in a climactic arena fight, Bellara uses a special crystal to power the artifact and remove it from a pedestal, destroying the Veil Bubble. Then, the Nadas Dirthalen comes alive as an Archive Spirit, but because the crystal used to power it breaks, we learn little about this spirit before it disappears. Fortunately, Bellara thinks she can fix it - fixing broken stuff is kind of her thing, Epler says - so the group heads back to the Veil Jumper camp and, as interested as I am in learning what happens next, the demo ends. It’s clear that even after a few hours with the game’s opening, I’ve seen a nigh negligible amount of game; frustrating but equally as exciting.

Don’t Call It An Open World

Veilguard is not an open world, even if some of its explorable areas might fee like one. Gamble describes Veilguard’s Thedas as a hub-and-spoke design where “the needs of the story are served by the level design.” A version of Inquisition’s Crossroads, a network of teleporting Eluvians, returns, and it’s how players will traverse across northern Thedas. Instead of a connected open world, players will travel from Eluvian to Eluvian to different stretches of this part of the continent. This allows BioWare to go from places like Minrathous to tropical beaches to Arlathan Forest to grim and gothic areas and elsewhere. Some of these areas are larger and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. Arlathan Forest is an example of this, but there are still optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things. There’s a minimap in each location, though linear levels like “In Entropy’s Grasp” won’t have the fog of war that disappears as you explore like some of Veilguard’s bigger locations. Regardless, BioWare says Veilguard has the largest number of diverse biomes in series history.

Dragon’s Delight

With a 10-hour day at BioWare behind me after hours of demo gameplay and interviews with the leads, I’m acutely aware of my favorite part of video games: the surprises. I dabbled with Origins and II and put nearly 50 hours into Inquisition, but any familiarity with the series the latter gave me had long since subsided over the past decade. I wanted to be excited about the next Dragon Age as I viewed each teaser and trailer, but other than seeing the words “Dragon Age,” I felt little. Without gameplay, without a proper look at the actual game we’ll all be playing this fall, I struggled to remember why Inquisition sucked me in 10 years ago.

This trip reminded me.

Dragon Age, much like the Thedas of Veilguard, lives in the uncertainty: The turbulence of BioWare’s recent release history and the lessons learned from it, the drastic changes to each Dragon Age’s combat, the mystery of its narrative, and the implications of its lore. It’s all a part of the wider Dragon Age story and why this studio keeps returning to this world. It’s been a fertile franchise for experimentation. While Veilguard is attempting to branch out in unique ways, it feels less like new soil and more like the harvest BioWare has been trying to cultivate since 2009, and I’m surprised by that.

I’m additionally surprised, in retrospect, how numb I’ve been to the game before this. I’m surprised by BioWare’s command over EA’s notoriously difficult Frostbite engine to create its prettiest game yet. I’m surprised by this series’ 15-year transition from tactical strategy to action-forward combat. I’m surprised by how much narrative thought the team has poured into these characters, even for BioWare. Perhaps having no expectations will do that to you. But most of all, with proper acknowledgement that I reserve additional judgment until I actually play the game, I’m surprised that Veilguard might just be the RPG I’m looking forward to most this year.

[hpowellsmith]

Honor Bound: Recruitment Day

It's Honor Bound week! The game will be out on 5th December!

While you wait, you can play this mini prequel about a day in the life of the Honor Bound PC, age 17.

Today, the Teranese Service recruiters are coming to Elene's Prospect. You'll work in the military for years after your mandatory service ends - but you don't know that yet.

-

More things to do before 5th December comes around:

Play Honor Bound Chapters 1-3 for free

Wishlist Honor Bound on Steam

Read more about Honor Bound on the forum developer thread

Play Five Months Ago: a mini prologue in which the PC is given their new assignment

And if you're still keen for more before the release comes around, here are a plethora of blogposts to read:

The Honor Bound setting and culture

Building your Honor Bound MC and how I wrote the game to be super responsive to your MC's personality, background, emotions, injury, and trauma responses

How I wrote each of the romanceable characters, plus excerpts from some of their moments in game

Enjoy!

[blacktabbygames]

Hi, I admit I dont really know what the process for this looks like, but would you ever consider adding Slay the Princess to the Playstation Plus subscription service, or to Xbox GamePass? Even temporary, with a time limit?

This might be something we do towards the very end of Slay the Princess' life cycle, but subscription services are a pretty hard sell for us in general. I don't think they're sustainable for the games industry as a whole, and they're a contributor to some of the race-to-the-bottom mentality. (Absolutely zero judgment for folks who use these services, btw. *I* use these services, but then I also know that I never actually buy a game after getting it on Game Pass or PS+; this is really just about the corporate side of things)

A big news item in the industry over the past month was the closure of Tango Gameworks, the Microsoft-owned studio that made Hi-Fi Rush last year, a wonderful game that got a bunch of awards and scored an 87 on Metacritic.

There's been a lot of speculation around this closure, and to add to that speculation, I believe that at the end of the day, Hi Fi Rush lost a lot of money, at least on paper.

It was shadow-dropped as a day 1 gamepass exclusive, which meant that there was no marketing done in advance, and sales were immediately cannibalized. (Side note— Hi-Fi Rush is maybe the only game I've picked up on Game Pass that I turned around and bought a Steam copy of, mostly because I wanted to play it on my Steam Deck.)

Since Tango was owned by MS, this was almost certainly a deliberate choice to make Game Pass seem more appealing, and even then, the studio behind a *hit* game was closed for financial reasons. So we're not sure that's a part of the industry we want to dance with.

I know this probably seems at odds with our stance on piracy, but at the end of the day, I think they're different beasts, and it's the scale, perceived legitimacy, and corporatization of subscription services that gives me a lot of pause, especially with Game Pass, which tends to double-release for PC and console. And on the flipside, I legitimately don't think piracy hurts developers.

So again, I think if we were to do something like this, it would be towards the end of the game's life, or it would be something tied more to an isolated ecosystem (i.e. if we do mobile, something like Apple Arcade, since people don't really *buy* mobile games, and the overlap with console + PC is very small.)

[knick-global]

The Rising Trend of Play-to-Earn Games and Innovative Development Companies in the USA

In recent years, the gaming industry has witnessed a revolutionary shift with the emergence of play-to-earn games. These games allow players to earn real-world rewards and even make a living through their in-game achievements. Alongside this trend, various innovative game development companies in the USA have been leading the charge in creating immersive experiences through procedural animation and web-based augmented reality (AR) development. In this blog, we will explore the growing significance of play-to-earn games USA and highlight some prominent USA-based companies driving the advancements in procedural animation and web AR development.

Play-to-Earn Games: A Gamechanger in the Industry:

Play-to-earn games, also known as blockchain-based games or decentralized gaming, have disrupted the traditional gaming landscape. These games leverage blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to create unique ecosystems where players can earn digital assets, tokens, or even real-world currencies. By participating in gameplay, completing tasks, and achieving in-game milestones, players can unlock valuable rewards that can be traded or monetized outside the game.

The concept of play-to-earn has gained immense popularity due to its potential to provide financial independence and create new economic opportunities for players. With the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which enable the ownership of unique digital assets, play-to-earn games have seen explosive growth. Players can buy, sell, and trade these digital assets, allowing for a vibrant virtual economy that transcends traditional gaming boundaries.

Prominent Play-to-Earn Game Development Companies in the USA:

Forte: Based in San Francisco, Forte is a leading play-to-earn game development company that focuses on building blockchain-based ecosystems for game developers and players. Their platform enables the creation of in-game economies and facilitates secure and transparent transactions using blockchain technology.

Immutable: Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with a strong presence in the USA, Immutable has developed the popular play-to-earn game "Gods Unchained." This blockchain-based trading card game allows players to earn digital assets that hold real-world value, creating a thriving marketplace for collectors and players alike.

Procedural Animation: Breathing Life into Virtual Worlds:

Procedural animation is a technique that empowers developers to create lifelike and dynamic movements within virtual environments. By using algorithms and mathematical functions, developers can generate animations that respond intelligently to in-game interactions, enhancing immersion and realism.

Several game development companies in the USA specialize in procedural animation, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in virtual worlds:

SideFX: Based in Santa Monica, California, SideFX develops Houdini, a powerful software widely used in the entertainment industry for procedural animation, visual effects, and game development. Houdini's procedural workflow empowers developers to create complex animations and simulations efficiently.

Giant Sparrow: Known for their critically acclaimed game "What Remains of Edith Finch," Giant Sparrow is a game development studio located in Santa Monica, California. They excel in combining procedural animation techniques with compelling storytelling, creating emotionally engaging experiences for players.

Web AR Development: Augmenting Reality through the Browser:

Web-based augmented reality (AR) development has opened up new avenues for creating interactive and immersive experiences accessible through web browsers.

By leveraging web technologies such as WebGL and WebXR, developers can deliver AR content directly to users' devices without the need for installing additional apps.

Prominent Web AR Development Companies in the USA: 8th Wall: Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, 8th Wall specializes in developing tools and platforms that enable web-based AR experiences.

Their technology allows developers to build and deploy AR content easily across a wide range of devices, empowering them to create engaging and interactive web AR.

[askagamedev]

From past responses you clearly have some experience with the console cert process. I was wondering: why do so few games offer cross platform play? Does the cert process become disproportionately more difficult when communicating to other systems becomes involved? Or is it just a difficult feature from a purely engineering pov? Thank you!

There are two major groups of hurdles to crossplay - technical and political. Both of these issues were primarily ironed out by Epic in late 2018, and then they opened up the doors for everybody else by releasing their set of crossplay tools and tech to the public for free.

On the technical side, the various walled garden networks - PSN, XBL, Nintendo Online - each have their own set of protocols, ports, technology, etc. They do not talk to each other or transfer information in the same way. There's a good reason for this - they weren't built by the same people or using the same technology, so their internal workings are all different. In order to solve this, the any third party developer needs to build a system that can take data from any supported service and translate it in real time so all players on other platforms understand what's happening in the game. This requires a fairly hefty engineering effort.

On the political side, console platform networks are walled gardens that generate a lot of revenue for the platforms. Every sale within that walled garden typically earns the platform owner a 30% cut. This is why they can afford to sell game consoles at a loss, they hope to make it back from their users. Allowing other players on other platforms to play with their users takes away from their exclusivity. This attitude permeates their certification rules, which are then enforced on all third party developers. Even now that crossplay is allowed, there are a lot of rules in place about things like communication between platforms (e.g. Rocket League was not allowed to let Playstation players communicate with PC players because of potential content ratings).

In 2018, Epic pushed to allow crossplay for their lifestyle game juggernaut Fortnite. Microsoft had already been dabbling in that arena by allowing Xbox to play with PC players (since most players ran on Windows anyway, so they were both Microsoft platforms), but Sony refused. Epic smoothed this over by paying Sony a significant sum of money to 'make up for lost revenue' and developing their own tools and technology to handle the technical issues of allowing crossplay. Sony begrudgingly agreed, so Fortnite went crossplay. Then, in typical fashion, Epic released their entire suite of crossplay tools to the public for free. Games like Dauntless and Rocket League soon followed to crossplay, and by 2019 Sony had changed their stance to accept crossplay.

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