New Xbox Series X Chip Reportedly In Development, But Don’t Expect Better Performance

Microsoft has reportedly begun work on an improved chip for the Xbox Series X console. According to journalist Brad Sams, the new chip is claimed to be smaller, more power-efficient, and could lead to a lower cost of production.

“I believe this is true–I know that Microsoft was working on revisions of the chip,” Sams said on his YouTube channel (as transcribed by Pure Xbox and at around the 25:50 mark). “Now, are we going to see performance improvements, are we going to see anything else? I do not believe so but Microsoft is always working on making cooler, more efficient chips because that lowers the cost of production. I believe it is accurate that Microsoft is working on a smaller, more power-efficient chip. That is, I’m very confident in that.”

A smaller chip likely won’t mean a slimmer version of the Xbox Series X, this early into its life-cycle. For comparison, the Xbox 360 Slim was released five years after the original console, and the Xbox One S arrived three years after the launch of the Xbox One. It’s also unclear if the chip could be used as part of a mid-cycle console refresh. It’s more likely that the revision would be strictly internal and leave the current Xbox Series X shape unchanged, similar to how Sony’s revised PS5 features a smaller and lighter heatsink while retaining its unique design.

As for the future, Microsoft confirmed last year that new Xbox hardware is currently in development, although we won’t see it for quite some time. “Cloud is key to our hardware and Game Pass roadmaps,” Liz Hamren, Microsoft’s CVP of Gaming Experiences and Platforms, said at the time. “But no one should think we’re slowing down on our core console engineering. In fact, we’re accelerating it. We’re already hard at work on new hardware and platforms, some of which won’t come to light for years.”

Despite an ongoing supply shortage, the Xbox Series X and its smaller Series S sibling have managed to sell well since they were launched in November 2020. As of January this year, analysts estimated that the Xbox Series X|S consoles combined to ship 12 million units since launch globally.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Magic Enthusiast Randy Pitchford Buys Hollywood’s Famous Magic Castle

Gearbox executive Randy Pitchford loves magic, so much so that he recently splashed out to purchase the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, home to the Academy of Magical Arts.

The LA Times reports that the deal should close by the end of the month, though a purchase price was not disclosed. Pitchford, the grandnephew of a master magician known as The Great Cardini, is a member of the academy and learned some of his magic skills at the castle. He also married his wife there.

“Basically everything I know about entertainment started at the Magic Castle,” Pitchford told the Times. “I feel like I owe my career to the Magic Castle.”

Pitchford is buying the castle in the wake of recent reports about sexual assault, sexual harassment, and race and gender discrimination at the castle.

The castle, located on Franklin Ave. in Hollywood, is an Edwardian manor built in 1908. It was sold to the Glover family in 1961, and Pitchford is buying it from them. The castle is open to visitors, but only for those invited by an academy member.

The castle was making money until the pandemic, which forced it to shut. Plans were apparently in place for the academy to buy it from the Glover family, but it never worked out. Pitchford declined to share the purchase price for the castle until the deal closes by the end of April.

You can watch Pitchford do magic in the video above. He is best known for sleight of hand tricks.

Gearbox’s latest game is the Borderlands spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, which released in March. The company, which is now owned by Embracer Group, also runs a publishing business.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Broadcom Launches Wi-Fi 7 Portfolio for Access Points and Client Devices

The last few years have seen heightened consumer focus on wireless networking. The industry has also been quite busy, enabling the operation of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) in the 6GHz band with Wi-Fi 6E. In parallel, the 802.11 Working Group had started work on 802.11be with a focus on extremely high throughput (EHT). Wi-Fi 7 is set to become the consumer-facing moniker for 802.11be.

802.11be aims to achieve high throughput primarily through a combination of three aspects:

Support for up to 16 spatial streams
Support for 320MHz-wide channels (with operation in 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands)
Support for 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) resulting in better utilization of available spectrum (a faster modulation / coding scheme).

Theoretically, these aspects allow for up to around 46 Gbps of wireless throughput. 802.11be also aims to enable usage of Wi-Fi for real-time applications by including features for low-latency communications such as Multi-link operation (MLO). This allows a client and an access point to simultaneously communicate over multiple channels that might even belong to different bands. Interference and co-existence with non-Wi-Fi users of the same spectrum is handled using automatic frequency coordination (AFC).

A number of additional features targeting these two thrust areas are under consideration for the final standard. However, multiple silicon vendors have already started introducing silicon supporting variations of the aspects included in the first 802.11be draft specifications.

Mediatek was one of the first vendors to demonstrate working 802.11be-compliant silicon earlier this year. Though Mediatek indicated that the products would be marketed under the Filogic lineup, concrete technical details and part numbers were not announced. At MWC 2022, Qualcomm provided details of their 802.11be client silicon targeting mobile devices. The FastConnect 7800 is expected to become available in H2 2022, and integrates Bluetooth 5.3 support with key Wi-Fi 7 features.

Broadcom is announcing a comprehensive portfolio of products targeting various Wi-Fi 7 markets today.

The table below summarize the key features of the products targeting access points. All of these support 4K-QAM and Multi-Link Operation.

Broadcom 802.11be (Wi-Fi) Access Point Radios Specifications
 
BCM67263
BCM6726
BCMN43740
BCMN43720
Target Market
Residential Wi-Fi APs
Enterprise Wi-Fi APs
Operational Band
6 GHz
2.4 GHz (or) 5 GHz (or) 6 GHz
Stream Count
4
2
Max. Channel Width
320 MHz
160 MHz
320 MHz
160 MHz
PHY Rate
11.5 Gbps
5.75 Gbps
11.5 Gbps
2.88 Gbps

The AP products support AFC in order to ensure that 6GHz range is not affected (the APs are mandated to receive regularly scheduled clearance from a central authority to prevent interference with 6 GHz spectrum users). Broadcom has applied to be an AFC operator and will offer AFC service with their chips. This will use Open AFC code. Broadcom also believes a vibrant Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem requires an AFC service that the device makers can use independent of the chip vendor. Organizations such as the Wi-Fi Alliance, and Wireless Broadband Alliance have applied to be AFC operators, with Open AFC already gaining traction in this.

Tying these together in Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 7 router reference design is the BCM4916 network processor. This ARM v8-compatible quad-core SoC includes a dual-issue Runner packet processor (DI-XRDP), an integrated NBASE-T (up to 10G) Ethernet PHY for WAN or LAN, four integrated 1GbE PHYs, three USXGMII interfaces, multiple USB ports, and a 32-bit DDR3/DDR4 DRAM interface.

The quad-core CPU is a custom Broadcom design with 64KB of L1 cache and 1MB of L2 cache, providing up to 24K DMIPS horsepower. Without the knowledge of exact clock speeds, it is difficult to compare against the standard Cortex cores from ARM. Based on the DMIPS number, this appears to slot in-between a Cortex-A53 and an A57, but does not include the ARM v8.2 features of the A55.

Broadcom’s customers can play around with the radio configuration in the above design to create products at different price points. Tri-band support becomes compulsory in Wi-Fi 7. The extremely high throughput enabled by this means that 10G support on the WAN/LAN side and NBASE-T support on the LAN front will become the de-facto standard for routers and APs in the coming years.

Broadcom is also introducing the BCM4398 – an integrated Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5 combo chip targeting smartphones and other mobile applications. It supports two streams of Wi-Fi 7, channel width of up to 320 MHz, and a 6.05 Gbps PHY rate. On the client side, one of the key user-visible updates is low-latency operation. Broadcom claims that the BCM4398 can achieve sub-millisecond latencies for lightly congested environments in the 6 GHz band. The client multi-link operation feature can keep both uplink and downlink latencies between 5 and 10ms in situations where both 5 and 6 GHz bands are highly congested. This provides determinism for AR/VR knowing that worst case latencies will be down to a few milliseconds even during heavy congestion.

Broadcom is the first vendor to announce a complete portfolio of Wi-Fi 7 products, with sampling for key customers already in progress. The new products should give end-consumers a taste of the values delivered by Wi-Fi 7 for different applications a few quarters from now.

Read MoreAnandTech

MLB The Show 22 Diamond Dynasty Tips And Tricks

Diamond Dynasty is the card-based mode in MLB The Show 22 where you collect cards and try to build the best baseball team possible. While this mode certainly favors players willing to spend a little money, there are ways to put together a top team by just playing the game. Here are a few tips to help build out your dream team in Diamond Dynasty.

How to find the best deals on the marketplace

One of the most important parts of Diamond Dynasty is the marketplace, where other players are selling their cards for stubs. While buying packs of cards is certainly cheaper, you know what you’re getting through the marketplace. It’s important to know how to find a good deal, because unless you’re willing to break the bank, you probably aren’t spending a few hundred thousand stubs to get a top-tier Mike Trout card. Instead, you will want to use the filters to narrow down the options.

Here, you can punch in the minimum and maximum player rating and cost, along with positions and other filters. Knowing how many stubs you’re willing to spend, what position you need, and what a good bump in ratings is, you can set filters appropriately. The best way to maximize your stubs is to make sure you are getting a significant enough boost in rating. If your third basemen is an 80, it’s probably not worth picking up another third basemen below an 85. Once you set your filters, look for lower cost players. You won’t have a team filled with recognizable superstars, but you will have a solid team to continue playing Diamond Dynasty and earn more stubs.

Always pick Sell Now over Quick Sell

Diamond Dynasty is all about opening packs of cards and adding the best players you can get to your roster. This also means getting a bunch of cards for players that you either don’t need or have better players in that position. Since MLB The Show 22 is close to launch, many cards will have two options to sell the card, Sell Now or Quick Sell. The Sell Now option means there is someone on the marketplace looking to pick up the card and the amount of Stubs you will receive is higher than the Quick Sell option. The upside to Quick Sell is that option is always available, but take the better price whenever possible.

Know what the general rating of your players is

Creating the best Diamond Dynasty team possible means opening a ton of player packs and looking at a ton of cards. To save yourself some time and headache, it’s a good idea to have a general idea of what player rating your squad has. If you know off-hand that every pitcher in your rotation has above a 70 rating, you don’t need to bother checking the stats of a starting pitcher card you just got that has a 65 rating. While the exact stats will matter as you hit the higher ratings, when just starting out you are almost always better off taking the better rated player.

Check out Mini Seasons, but don’t expect it to be easy

One of the best ways to earn Stubs quickly is to win some Mini Seasons, where your Diamond Dynasty team gets put up against a set of teams in a miniature season. You play brief, three inning games in a shortened season, which allows you to progress through programs and earn Stubs quickly. This is also one of the least complicated single-player Diamond Dynasty modes, as its regular baseball, just shorter. The only downside to jumping into this mode with your fresh-faced squad is that the other teams are going to have better players. Unless you feel like busting out your wallet, you will need to grind out some Stubs.

Check out showdown mode for a boost in Stubs

Showdown mode is another way to rack up some stubs and get to use some of the better player cards in the game without actually having them. Each Showdown has a series of challenges that you must complete, before battling in a final Showdown. Players draft a team to start and earn bonus cards and perks whenever they successfully complete a challenge. The only downside to Showdown is that there is an entry fee to start one and if you do poorly enough, you could come out down stubs on the other side.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Cyberpunk 2077: “There Is Work To Be Done,” Says Quest Director

Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 1.5 made substantial adjustments to CD Projekt Red’s RPG, but the Polish developer is aware that more needs to be done. The team is still working on the game.

As noticed by TheGamer, Reddit user KamilCesaro posted a clip from one of Cyberpunk 2077 quest director Paweł Sasko’s Twitch streams, in which the developer provided a brief behind-the-scenes view of CD Projekt Red’s priorities.

“I can assure you that we are working on an expansion–we’re working on stuff for you guys besides that,” Sasko said. “That didn’t change, we are still improving the game because we are all aware there is work to be done.”

This is in line to CD Projekt Red’s message a year ago–abandoning Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t an option. In April 2021, CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Kicinski said, “I don’t see an option to shelve Cyberpunk 2077. We are convinced that we can bring the game to such a state that we can be proud of it and therefore successfully sell it for years to come.”

In May 2021, Gabriel Amatangelo took the reigns from Adam Badowskim moving into the game director role for Cyberpunk 2077’s future expansions.

Sasko clarified that he couldn’t speak more to CD Projekt Red’s plans, saying, “That’s as much as I can tell you. We are working on stuff for you. Like I’m literally daily reviewing quests or talking to people about stuff, so it is happening.”

Patch 1.5 made sweeping quality-of-life adjustments to Cyberpunk 2077, such as options to skip its needlessly long Braindance tutorial or respec your skills. The patch also added PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the ability to buy and customize apartments and receive saucy photos from romance options.

Regarding Patch 1.5, Sasko said, “We’re very happy you guys liked 1.5, and that gives us more motivation–I mean, we were never low on motivation to be honest–more incentive to work for you guys because you show your appreciation for it and you play the game.”

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Huge Halo: MCC Update Adds Flood Firefight, Campaign Cross-Play For Halo 3 And ODST

Updates for Halo: The Master Chief Collection are slowing down as 343 shifts focus to Halo Infinite, but a big one out today delivers new and exciting features to the compilation package. This is a very large update, coming in at around 21.5GB on Xbox, 26.5GB on Microsoft Store app or Xbox app on PC, and about 11.2GB on Steam.

The big-ticket items for the April 11 MCC patch include a new mode, Flood Firefight, as well as co-op crossplay support added to the campaigns for Halo 3 and ODST. What’s more, MCC now has full custom game browser support, while there are a host of other updates and tweaks for the game.

Flood Firefight comes to Halo: MCC

The new mode is Flood Firefight, which, as its name suggests, adds the evil Flood enemies to Firefight rounds. The Flood appear in Firefight with an eerie-looking fog element that dynamically fades in and out. Additionally, Flood can get into vehicles and they have new animations and abilities.

“ODSTs can be infected and resurrected by the Flood. Beware, as you may have to fight your own resurrected allies–or even yourself!” 343 said.

Beyond that, 343 has added the ability to use the Energy Sword and Sentinel Beam in ODST for the first time, while players can now trade weapons with allies, too. What’s more, weapon racks with assault rifles and battle rifles are now in Firefight to help players take down the Flood. Some maps have Flamethrowers, too, to help you deal with the enemies.

For campaign crossplay, PC and Xbox console players can now play Halo 3 and ODST cooperatively online. 343 said it needs your help to work through any issues, so it advises players to submit bug report tickets for any issues they might encounter.

Elsewhere, the April 11 MCC patch adds weapon customization for Halo 4’s campaign. Players can assign skins to weapons so that when they pick them up, they’ll see their unique customization. The special skin even applies to Marine allies if you trade weapons with one of the NPCs.

Another notable change is for Halo 3’s medals. There are 51 new medals being added, including Headshot, Assist, Revenge, Grenade Kill, and many more. These achievements have always been tracked by Halo 3, but not always shown during matches. With this new update, players can toggle on Unified Medal Display to see all of these medals pop up in the HUD overlay. If this sounds like too much, players can select the “Original+” medal display setting to only show the original medals, as well as three of the most common new ones (Headshot, Assist, and Supercombine). There is also a new option to turn all medals off entirely.

The April 11 MCC patch also adds new features for the Custom Game Browser. Specifically, players can select “automatic” team changing. This allows a game host to avoid manual team changes, instead automatically ensuring the teams are even for each new match. This was already live in some games within MCC, but now it’s available in all of them.

It’s a big day for Halo: MCC

The new MCC update also introduces more skulls, some of which have been labeled “experimental.” That’s because some of these new skulls may break the game, basically. 343 warned that players who use some of the new skulls run the risk of not being able to complete a given mission. Some of the new skulls for Halo 3 include “Boom” (increases explosion radius X2), “Ghost,” (AI doesn’t flinch from attacks), and “Anger” (enemies shoot more, and faster).

Beyond this update, 343 said it has a number of new features and improvements in store for MCC down the road. This includes adding mod support for more games within the MCC package, adding additional cosmetics, introducing more campaign collectibles, optimizing the post-match screens, and introducing new accessibility features like better subtitle support, controller remapping, and “additional campaign accessibility options.”

As announced previously, 343 is no longer supporting MCC on a seasonal basis, so it’s not committing to a specific timeline for when future updates will arrive, though it said it expects this work to be complete by the end of 2022. After that, 343 said it will “continue to engage with the community” and dig back into MCC for updates and support “as needed.”

You can see the full April 11 MCC patch notes below, as shared on the Halo website. 343 also continues to update and support Halo Infinite, with its Season 2: Lone Wolves launch coming up on May 3.

Halo: MCC April 11 Patch Notes

HALO 3: ODST FIREFIGHT IMPROVEMENTS AND FLOODFIGHT

Various new settings are available when creating a Firefight session. Added scenario settings include hazards and friendly “Boons” such as additional weapons being available on the map and allies delivered via Insertion Pods.This update brings Elites to New Mombasa for the first time and a new Firefight game variant: Floodfight. Elites and Flood enemies can also be added to other Halo 3: ODST Firefight game variants via the Wave Properties settings.Flood waves will be accompanied by a fog that changes the atmosphere of classic maps and allies lost to the Flood may return to attack players.Flood-themed hazards are also available in the new scenario settings. These hazards include Flood Dispersal Pods, Flood Stalkers, and Flood-controlled vehicles.

CUSTOM GAME BROWSER (CGB) IMPROVEMENTS

In addition to several menu improvements, all titles in the Master Chief Collection are now available for use in Custom Game Browser sessions.A “Quick Match” option has been added to the Custom Game Browser menu. This will allow players and their party members to enter a match that fits their selected Filter options without browsing the full list of available sessions.

CROSS-PLATFORM CO-OP FOR HALO 3 AND HALO 3: ODST (EXPERIMENTAL)

Players on PCs and Xbox consoles can now play these campaigns cooperatively online.This feature has been tested internally, but the team requires additional insight from real players with different networking setups. Please submit Bug Report tickets if you encounter any issues in-game and share your feedback on this feature in the Halo Waypoint forums.

CAMPAIGN CUSTOMIZATION FOR HALO 4

When starting a Halo 4 mission, enable the Campaign Customization option to see equipped weapon skins in-game.

NEW SKULLS ADDED TO HALO 2: ANNIVERSARY, HALO 3, AND HALO 3: ODST

The Acrophobia Skull has been added to Halo 2: Anniversary’s campaign.16 new Skulls have been added to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Use the expandable box below for a full list of newly added campaign Skulls.

Full list of new campaign Skulls in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST

NEW MEDALS IN HALO 3 AND ORIGINAL+ MEDALS OPTION

Several new medals have been introduced to Halo 3 multiplayer via the Unified Medal Display setting. These new medals will always count towards level progression but will only be visible in gameplay when the Unified Medal Display setting is set to On.The new Original+ option for the Unified Medal Display setting will show Halo 3’s original multiplayer medals with their original artwork and three of the newly added medals: Headshot, Assist, and Supercombine.

Full list of new Unified Medals for Halo 3 Multiplayer

HALO 3: ODST MOD TOOLS

Mod tools are now available for Halo 3: ODST. You can download these tools on Steam. Within the Steam app, set your Library filter to include “Tools,” locate “Halo 3: ODST Mod Tools” and install.

To learn more about the Steam mod tools and discuss them with other players, visit the mod forums on Steam.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS UPDATE

For additional insight on these new features and 2022 development plans for MCC, see the new Halo Waypoint update blog.

Join the Halo Insider program for the chance to see new features before they’re released publicly and, if you’ve encountered a bug in-game, submit a Halo Support ticket so that the development team can investigate the issue. Thank you to all Halo Insiders and ticket submitters for their bug reports and feedback!

Some of the improvements in this update required us to invalidate past Theater films and Campaign saves. If you have films you would like to save, please record them using a digital recording tool.

Many platforms automatically update games. See Updating Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC for detailed instructions for how to manually update your game on Steam or the Microsoft Store app.

We have a range of player guides and other support articles for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, including:

Quick Start Guide for Halo: The Master Chief CollectionHow to change Field-of-View (FOV) options in Halo: The Master Chief CollectionWhat is the difference between “co-op,” Firefight, and Spartan Ops in Halo: The Master Chief Collection?How to change your display settings in Halo: The Master Chief CollectionHalo Spartan CodeEnd User License Agreement for Halo: The Master Chief Collection

RESOLVED ISSUES AND BUG FIXES

Many improvements, especially those related to Floodfight in Halo 3: ODST, come from Halo Insider and Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keep submitting tickets!

GLOBAL

Loading screens will now display the correct names for custom maps.Improvements to the functionality of the “Save Settings” pop-up that appears after changing options in the Settings menu.Improvements to the playback of main menu audio to reduce skipping and distortion.Title-specific menu backgrounds will now appear more consistently.Improvements to the usability of the Server Region section of the Settings menu.Binding a key for one title no longer results in that key becoming unbound for other titles.The “Change Profile” button now results in the sign-in menu appearing as expected.The text chat window on Xbox consoles now has a blurred background like on PC, not a black background.The “Jumper Jumper” option is now in the Controls tab of the Settings menu to reflect that it works on both gamepad and keyboard.Selecting a suggested word using the Windows On-Screen Keyboard no longer closes the text chat window.Clarified unlock descriptions for various nameplates.The following cinematic missions can now be played in co-op campaign: Halo: Reach Noble ActualEpilogueHalo 3 ArrivalEpilogueHalo 3: ODST Prepare to DropEpilogueHalo 4 PrologueEpilogueAudio settings that were previously only available on PC are now available on Xbox consoles.The text chat availability setting no longer reverts recently made changes.The in-game link to Halo Waypoint’s credits now works as expected.The “Set for all games” button in the keybinding settings menu will no longer unbind actions that don’t exist in all titles.Terminal cutscenes now align to the game’s color blindness setting rather than the user interface (UI) color blindness setting.Quality of life improvements to the Customization menu including increased visibility of equipped items in a collapsible list.Added new tooltips throughout the menus.A “Use at your own risk” disclaimer will appear when activating certain Skulls in the Campaign menus.Various icons throughout the menus have been updated. Some of the new icons can be found in the following menus: CareerPlayer IDPause menuActive Skulls

Custom Game Browser (CGB)

Text size on the Select Game Variant and Select Map Variant menus has been increased to improve legibility.When playing with a mouse and keyboard, Session and Variant Names can now be confirmed using the numpad’s Enter key.Attempting to leave a CGB session as the host ends the current game will no longer result in the leaving player being unable to leave the session.A Session Description can now be set when creating a new CGB session. This description and game variant details are visible to joining players in the Session Details menu.On Xbox consoles, the Game Transcription feature will better narrate the CGB menus.Names on the Select Game Variant menu, Browse menu, and Create menu will display more characters before being truncated.Players who block User Generated Content (UGC) in their Xbox profile settings will no longer be able to join Custom Game Browser sessions that utilize UGC.The Page Up and Page Down keys now function as expected in the CGB’s Browse menu.Improvements to the accuracy of game variant names when joining an in-progress Custom Game Browser session.Improvements to text rendering in the Session Details menu when playing in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, or Chinese (Simplified).The “All” option for selecting titles in the CGB’s Filter menu now functions consistently.The Roster menu will now show the correct map name for players in a CGB session.Recent changes to selected Map or Game Variants will now be reflected correctly on the Create menu.

HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED

When playing campaign with Remastered graphics enabled, performance has been improved for Xbox One consoles in solo sessions and Xbox Series X consoles in both solo and co-op sessions.Reduced audio reverb in the Battle Creek multiplayer map.Resolved multiple audio issues affecting dialogue audio in campaign, music in the mission The Maw, and the Remastered audio’s shield charging sound effect.The correct medal is now awarded in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) and the Career menu’s Medal Chest for sniper rifle kills in multiplayer.Multiple improvements to campaign’s chapter titles including text size and letterboxing behavior in some aspect ratios.The Rocket Warthog’s wheels now animate correctly when the “Field Medic” skin is equipped.Weapon sway animation has been improved for high framerates.Projectiles fired by the Covenant’s Spirit dropship and Stationary Gun now appear correctly.Crosshair position will now default to Centered for new or guest profiles. This option can be changed at any time in the Gameplay tab of the Settings menu.The Flamethrower’s screen now appears correctly when a skin is equipped.The reload timer for the Scorpion and Rocket Warthog are no longer offset into the crosshair.

HALO 2

In campaign, nearby dialogue audio will now transition to radio chatter when players move away from the character who is speaking.Various visual improvements to Classic graphics throughout campaign, including but not limited to: Explosions, smoke, and other visual effects are now consistent with the original Halo 2 release.Some texture issues have been resolved, notably in the mission Sacred Icon.Heads-up Display (HUD) elements such as the co-op partner indicator and shield damage animation are now consistent with the original Halo 2 release.Resolved a visual issue affecting the overheat indicators on the Plasma Pistol and Plasma Rifle in the mission The Oracle with Remastered graphics enabled.Active Camo now consistently applies to first-person player models in co-op sessions while Remastered graphics are enabled.Scoring and Timing HUD elements are now consistently visible when playing the mission Cairo Station in co-op.Increased stability of online co-op sessions during loading and extended play sessions.Destroyed mounted turrets are now consistently inoperable in Classic multiplayer.Secondary armor color is now reflected in team-based Halo 2 Classic multiplayer modes.The correct medal is now awarded in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) and the Career menu’s Medal Chest for sniper rifle kills in Classic multiplayer.Voice Chat indicators in both Classic and Anniversary Multiplayer now work as expected.Multiple improvements to Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer armor including first-person view models now reflecting the equipped armor set.Escalation Slayer’s weapon counter will now consistently appear in sessions with multiple rounds.Added team support for Kill Volumes and Safe Volumes in Forge mode for Halo 2: Anniversary. Kill Volumes owned by a team kill everyone not on that team. Safe Volumes owned by a team protect everyone on that team.Object Color and Team Color no longer conflict with one another in Forge for Halo 2: Anniversary.

HALO 3

The “Steaktacular” medal can now be earned in Halo 3 multiplayer matchmaking. It is awarded after winning a match by at least 20 kills.”Triple Double” medals earned in multiplayer will now appear in the Career menu’s Medal Chest.The correct medal is now awarded in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) and the Career menu’s Medal Chest for sniper rifle kills in multiplayer.Resolved instability caused by pressing Alt+Tab while playing Halo 3.Multiple visual issues resolved on the multiplayer map Waterfall.Customization skins now consistently appear on Transport Warthogs.Lighting effects now appear correctly in split-screen multiplayer on Xbox consoles.Hand textures on multiple Techsuits have been improved.When New Skins are enabled, the first-person hand models for Gen 1 and Gen 2 Techsuits have been improved.Visor colors in the Customization menu now better reflect their in-game appearance.Multiple improvements to level geometry in the multiplayer map Icebox.Changing the audio output device in the Settings menu now works as expected.Animated visors in the Exchange menu now consistently appear correctly.Speaker icons now appear during the pre- and post-game scoreboards in multiplayer matches.Lighting now appears correctly on the Fronkbox back accessory.In split-screen, the New Customization toggle now reflects the primary player’s selection.A Moa collectible on the mission Floodgate will now only appear if it counts towards a Challenge’s progress.Multiple armor sets now better reflect their color selection in-game.The stun duration for Sentinels is now consistent with the original release of Halo 3.Explosives like Fusion Coils no longer appear as “unknown” kills in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR).Kills are now attributed to the correct weapon when two players kill one another at the same time with melee weapons.

HALO 3: ODST

Players in online Firefight missions will no longer experience unintended movements after using the Gravity Hammer.All players in online Firefight missions can now view enemies on the VISR map, regardless of whether they are alive or waiting to respawn.Resolved an issue that caused enemies on the Crater (Night) map to walk through a closed door and prevented players from damaging enemies on the other side of the door.Changing the audio output device in the Settings menu now works as expected.To prevent players from accidentally blocking progress, the Phantom at the start of the Bonus Round on the Rally Point (Day) mission can no longer be destroyed.The pause menu and Theater lobby now display the correct level information for the Rally Point Firefight mission.Optimized network usage for AI actions in Firefight. This may result in some players seeing AI actions more reliably or quicker as well as a reduction in network bandwidth being consumed while playing Firefight online.On the Alpha Site Firefight mission, remaining enemies from the previous wave no longer become stuck in the player spawn rooms and will now correctly follow the player.When playing a custom Firefight variant on the Alpha Site Firefight mission, the doors on the elevator platforms are disabled to ensure that spawning enemies do not become stuck.

Floodfight

The following improvements are based on feedback and Halo Support tickets from a Halo Insider flight in September 2021.

New enemies introduced in Floodfight, such as the Flood and Elites, now have full audio.Flood carriers and Flood Tanks will now navigate Firefight maps as expectedResolved issues that caused enemies to become stuck outside of the playable space or waves to not transition as expected.Flood Infection Forms are now visible for all players in online missions, including when in a reanimated Combat Form’s chest.Flood enemies now appear correctly for all players in cross-platform sessions.Headshots on Flood enemies now reward headshot medals and deal critical damage. Headshots on Combat Forms will result in immediate kills.Flood Infection Forms are now highlighted when VISR mode is activated.Covenant Engineers will no longer shield Flood enemies.Reanimated Flood Combat Forms now behave correctly for all players in online missions.All Flood and Elite enemies will now aggressively seek out the players.

HALO 4

Swinging the Energy Sword no longer results in seeing through the player’s arm at high field-of-view (FOV) values.In Spartan Ops cutscenes, Elites now have subtitles when speaking Sangheili.Escalation Slayer’s weapon counter will now consistently appear in sessions with multiple rounds.Improved heads-up display (HUD) and cinematic letterbox scaling in multiple aspect ratios.Armor from the Champions Bundle (Mark V, Prefect, and ODST) now appears correctly in first-person.The Inclement Weather armor effect no longer appears cut off in-game.The Spartan Ops menu now correctly reflects completed missions.Changing the audio output device in the Settings menu now works as expected.ODST leg armor now appears correctly in-game.Object Color and Team Color no longer conflict with one another in Forge.Armor effects are now visible in Spartan Ops.Improved clarity of Heads-Up Display (HUD) text in Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean.Resolved an issue that caused players to not receive a weapon in Escalation Slayer after killing multiple enemies at once with the Incineration Cannon.Text size of chapter titles and skip prompts are now consistent with the original release of Halo 4.Added support for weapon skins in game modes with loadouts disabled (such as Fiesta and Escalation Slayer).The Suppressor MCN and RFC weapon skins now appear correctly in gametypes with Map or Game Loadouts.Added team support for Kill Volumes and Safe Volumes. Kill Volumes owned by a team kill everyone not on that team. Safe Volumes owned by a team protect everyone on that team.

HALO: REACH

Improved heads-up display (HUD) scaling in multiple aspect ratios.Tactical Recon chest armor, prosthetic arms, and visors now appear correctly in campaign cutscenes.Changing the audio output device in the Settings menu now works as expected.Field-of-view (FOV) for the Seraph and Sabre now correctly responds to the Vehicle FOV setting.Object Color and Team Color no longer conflict with one another in Forge.Resolved an issue which resulted in Object Colors disappearing between rounds.The New Customization setting now functions correctly in Spartan-only game variants for players who have set their preferred species to Elite.The Blackguard Carrion Crow helmet now better reflects the selected armor color in-game.In split-screen, the New Customization toggle now reflects the primary player’s selection.All players in online Firefight matches can now trade weapons with friendly marines on the Installation 04 mission.Sirens now play while attacking objectives in Invasion on Ridgeline.Added team support for Kill Volumes and Safe Volumes. Kill Volumes owned by a team kill everyone not on that team. Safe Volumes owned by a team protect everyone on that team.The Target Locator battery now consistently syncs between players and resets at the start of new rounds in multiplayer matches.Improved stability when playing Rocketfight in an online Firefight mission.

KNOWN ISSUES

With this update, the team has added eleven new issues to our Known Issues list:

When playing with Remastered graphics in Halo: Combat Evolved, gamepad button prompts are missing their backgrounds.In Halo: Combat Evolved, gamepad look sensitivity when using the “Classic” aim setting is slower than expected.On Xbox consoles, changes made to the Game Volume options in the Audio Settings menu are not reflected in Halo: Combat Evolved gameplay. Audio volume in Halo: Combat Evolved will instead reflect the default value of 100%.When playing split-screen on an Xbox console, disconnecting a controller may result in the joining player’s account being signed out without a notification.The Customization menu may experience framerate drops on Xbox One X consoles.When joining a Custom Game Browser session using the Quick Match feature, party members may see the incorrect filters listed in the user interface (UI). The party leader’s selected filters will be used as expected.The Game Categories in the Custom Game Browser’s Filter menu lists modes that may not align with expected game variants in all titles. For example, Grifball in Halo 3 is an Assault game variant and Race is a VIP game variant, so the Grifball and Race game categories in the Custom Game Browser will not populate with those lobbies when searched.Players may see their Halo 3 game and map variants or Halo 3: ODST Firefight game variants appearing as ‘corrupted’ in-game. These variants will not be available for use in Custom Games. While these files may appear to be corrupted, the issue is not due to the files themselves. A future update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection will restore the game’s ability to read these files correctly.Map Variants and Game Variants uploaded via the Private Files menu will display an incorrect file size in the Shared Files menu and when downloaded. This does not affect files uploaded via the Temporary Files menu.After saving then editing a Trusted file from the My Files menu, the edited file will be shown as Trusted when it should display Untrusted. The correct status will be reflected after backing out to the Main Menu and then re-entering the Private Files menu.When playing with a high Field-of-View (FOV) value and the effects quality option set to Low, some visual effects on the Halo 3 multiplayer map Waterfall may not appear.

For a full list of known issues in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, go to our Known Issues section.

FURTHER RESOURCES

If you experience problems with your Xbox console or Game Pass, Xbox Support can help you.If you have problems with your account, Microsoft or Xbox purchases, Microsoft Support can help you.If you have problems with other purchases, please contact the retailer you purchased your game from.If you experience a problem in Steam that is not an in-game issue, please contact Steam Support.If you want a chance to participate in future MCC flights, sign up for the Halo Insider Program.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

New Apex Legends Update Finally Fixes Wattson On Storm Point

Respawn has released a new update for Apex Legends. The hotfix addresses an issue on Storm Point that has been plaguing Wattson, Rampart, and Pathfinder since the start of the Warriors Collection Event.

When the Warriors Collection Event went live on March 29, the accompanying update had the unforeseen side effect of suddenly making it unnecessarily difficult to use Wattson, Rampart, and Pathfinder’s abilities that require placing an object while playing on Storm Point.

Just pushed a @PlayApex update to address:
-Issues with placeable abilities on Storm Point.
-Third-party controllers not working on Xbox Series X|S.
-Various next-gen console, Control, and Bangalore Story Event fixes.

— Respawn (@Respawn) April 11, 2022

This meant you could try to put down Rampart’s Amped Wall on the ground or fire Pathfinder’s Zipline Gun into a wall and the game would register normally fine placement spots as unavailable, preventing players from using these abilities.

This was an especially heavy, albeit unintentional, nerf towards Wattson whose entire kit is dependent on purposeful placement of her Perimeter Security tactical ability and Interception Pylon ultimate ability. Without reliable access to either, she’s been basically unplayable on Storm Point for the entirety of the two-week event.

The hotfix also fixes issues connected to the The Williams Sendoff story event, as well as various issues with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Apex Legends.

The Warriors Collection Event ends tomorrow, April 12. That means it’s your last chance to finish the event’s rewards track and unlock the cosmetics seen in that giant Apex Legends leak. The leak also indicated Newcastle and a Storm Point map change would be coming in Season 13, both of which have seemingly been subsequently confirmed based on recent teases from Respawn.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Intel Opens D1X-Mod3 Fab Expansion; Moves Up Intel 18A Manufacturing to H2’2024

Intel for the last few years has been undergoing a major period of manufacturing expansion for the company. While the more recent announcements of new facilities in Ohio and Germany have understandably taken a lot of the spotlight – especially given their importance to Intel’s Foundry Services plans – Intel has been working even longer on expanding their existing facilities for their own use. The company’s development of next-generation EUV and Gate-All-Around-style transistors (RibbonFET) not only requires creating and refining the underlying technology, but it also just flat out requires more space. A lot of it.

To that end, Intel today is holding a grand opening in Oregon for the Mod3 expansion of D1X, the company’s primary development fab. The expansion, first announced back in 2019, is the third such mod (module) and second expansion for Intel’s main dev fab to be built since D1X’s initial construction in 2010. And in keeping with tradition for Intel fab launches and expansions, the company is making something of an event of it, including bringing Oregon’s governor out to show off their $3 Billion investment.

But fanfare aside, the latest mod for the fab is a genuinely important one for Intel: not only does it add a further 270,000 square feet of clean room space to the facility – expanding D1X by about 20% – but it’s the only fab module that’s big enough to support the High Numerical Aperture (High NA) EUV tool that Intel will be using starting with its 18A process. ASML’s forthcoming TWINSCAN EXE:5200 EUV tool is designed to be their most powerful yet, but it’s also quite a bit larger than the NXE 3000 series EUV tools Intel is using for their first generation EUV processes (Intel 4/3). It’s so big that D1X’s ceiling is too low to fit the machine, never mind support its weight.

Read MoreAnandTech

The Nvidia Games Leak Gets More Intriguing Following Kingdom Hearts 4 Announcement

Square Enix has officially announced Kingdom Hearts IV, which is a notable event unto itself. But it’s also yet another example of the 2021 Nvidia GeForce Now leak proving to be accurate. That’s because Kingdom Hearts IV was among the dozens of titles listed in the GeForce Now database that leaked in 2021. The fact that Kingdom Hearts IV is a real game doesn’t mean all the leaked games are genuine and will be announced or released, but it’s an intriguing development all the same.

With the leak fresh in our minds following Kingdom Hearts IV’s announcement, it’s a fitting time to look back at the games in the leak.

Mounting Evidence

Starting off, though, there are no guarantees that the titles included in the leak are the real deal, as it’s always possible the database was out of date or that it contained placeholder entries, among other possibilities.

That said, the leak has already proven to be accurate time and again. In terms of unannounced games in the leak that proved to be real, Kingdom Hearts IV is joined by God of War for PC and the GTA remasters through the GTA The The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. The leak also mentioned Street Fighter 6 and Crysis 4, both of which have subsequently been revealed officially.

For Sony games specifically, the list of leaked games includes unannounced titles like Helldivers 2, as well as PC ports of existing titles like Returnal and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. As mentioned, God of War did in fact release on PC through Steam, and that appears to be part of Sony’s wider strategy to launch more games on PC in general. Unlike Microsoft, however, Sony doesn’t release its new PlayStation games on PC until a while after they debut on console.

The leaked list also included a Resident Evil 4 remake. Capcom has yet to confirm this officially, but VGC reported that a Resident Evil 4 remake is actually in the works. That would make sense, considering it is one of the most beloved entries in the series and because Capcom’s remakes are big-time sellers.

Unconfirmed But Plausible

The list of leaked games also included titles like Gears 6, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Titanfall 3, Tekken 8, Monster Hunter 6, Final Fantasy 9 Remake, and a remaster of Half-Life 2–none of these games have been officially announced. That said, all of these seem plausible or even likely given the commercial success and legacies of each franchise they stem from.

The Half-Life 2 remaster would be a little surprising given that Valve hasn’t done much with the Half-Life series of late beyond the VR game Half-Life Alyx. The Final Fantasy 9 remake rumor is intriguing as well, and it’s possible it wouldn’t be as big in scope as the Final Fantasy VII Remake, considering many of Square Enix’s other remake-style projects have been more modest in scope.

Some developers whose games were listed in the database leak have debunked rumors, like 343, which confirmed there are no plans to bring Halo 5 to PC following the leak. Clearly, the leaked list is not perfect, but it remains a fascinating window into games that could be on the way, or headed to new platforms, in the future.

All The Games

Reddit user LastGrail has compiled a list of the leaked games, broken down by publisher and denoting whether or not they have been announced officially. If you want to see the full list, which contains 18,000 titles, head to the original discovery post here on Medium.

How This Happened And Nvidia’s Response

The leak of Nvidia’s GeForce Now database dates back to September 2021. Nvidia acknowledged that an “unauthorized” list of games was published online, but the company didn’t say how the leak happened in the first place. Responding to the leak in 2021, Nvidia said the list of games was never meant to be published externally and could be “speculative.”

“Nvidia is aware of an unauthorized published game list, with both released and/or speculative titles, used only for internal tracking and testing. Inclusion on the list is neither confirmation nor an announcement of any game,” the company said. “Nvidia took immediate action to remove access to the list. No confidential game builds or personal information were exposed.”

Hearing about unannounced games, and games coming to new platforms, makes for good chatter–but we’ll have to wait and see to find out what is real and what is not.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Red Dead Redemption 2 Wins Screenshot Of The Year Award At London Games Festival

Red Dead Redemption 2 has won an award at the London Games Festival for promoting the art of virtual photography.

The winning screenshot, taken by Joe Meizies, was displayed around Trafalgar Square as part of the London Games Festival and features a lone cowboy on horseback in the desolate desert of the old west.

The winning entry of the London Games Festival. Credit: Rockstar Games/ Joe Meizies

“The challenge celebrates the new artistic medium of virtual photography where creators can bring video game design and virtual worlds to life,” festival organizers said in a press statement. “We wanted to celebrate these trailblazers from underrepresented backgrounds and tell their stories,” head of Games London Michael French added, expressing hope that the contest would expose the world to the digital art form.

Other entries in the contest–which was supported by Nvidia Studio and The Fourth Focus–include snapshots taken from Horizon Forbidden West, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Control. If you’d like to see some beautifully-composed photography from those games and several others, you can check them out in a Google Drive folder that has been made publicly available.

Photography modes have become a key part of video games over the years, with most of Sony’s various first-party titles offering a suite of options for grabbing the perfect screenshot. Games like Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and The Last of Us Part II have been prime examples, while other third-party titles have also offered their own photographic tools.

Cyberpunk 2077 for example, has a comprehensive selection of tools and filters available which can be used to create that one perfect shot. Or you can use them to capture saucy Johnny Silverhand images.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News