Epic Releases Unreal Engine 5 Alongside Sample Projects

After being released in early access last year, Epic has fully released Unreal Engine 5. Available for download, the complete edition includes the dynamic global illumination solution Lumen, the upsampling system Temporal Super Resolution, and several other tools that are designed to increase fidelity in video game projects.

Artists will benefit from a redesigned Unreal Editor, which includes “better performance, artist-friendly animation tools, an extended mesh creation and editing toolset, improved path tracing, and much more,” according to Epic. “One of our ongoing goals is to make the creation of open worlds faster, easier, and more collaborative for teams of all sizes.”

In addition to all that, developers can experiment with the software through two sample projects, Lyra Starter Game and City Sample. Epic says that these samples include buildings, vehicles, and crowds of Metahuman characters in a complete city that are designed to showcase the improved systems in Unreal Engine 5 and provide a hands-on learning resource.

That content will be available in separate packs so that developers can download and experiment with the assets, and Epic will also release paid and free Unreal Engine 5-related content on the Unreal Marketplace.

Epic’s livestream today revealed that over 85 game studios have made the transition to Unreal Engine 5, which includes CD Projekt Red for its next Witcher game. Crystal Dynamics announced that a new Tomb Raider is in development and will also be using Unreal Engine 5.

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Ubisoft Is Reportedly Making A Hero Shooter Battle Royale

A new report states that Ubisoft is far from done attempting to break into the battle royale space, with a new third-person hero shooter take on the genre tentatively titled Pathfinder reportedly in early stages of development at Ubisoft Montreal.

The report comes from Tom Henderson via Exputer, who says he has seen images and videos of the game in-action and that it looks similar to Ubisoft’s current battle royale, Hyper Scape, but more “cartoony in nature.”

Pathfinder is said to be a PvPvE take on battle royale, with players having to battle both AI enemies and other competitors as they work their way towards the center of a map to defeat a boss-like enemy. To reach the boss in the center, players will need to breach an outer and inner wall via a series of gates, with the gates that are breachable or locked changing on a per-match basis.

Henderson reports that the game will be a “hero shooter,” in that there will be different playable characters to choose from that each have their own unique abilities. Pathfinder will also reportedly have a Destiny-like social space where players can shop, test out weapons at a firing range, join events, and interact with other players.

Pathfinder is coming from the same studio that made 2020’s Hyper Scape, which is set to shut down on April 28. In a statement announcing the closing of the Hyper Scape servers, Ubisoft stated it would take “key learnings” from the failed battle royale into future products.

If and when Pathfinder is officially revealed, it won’t be the only Ubisoft battle royale game in the works. Ubisoft revealed the free-to-play Ghost Recon: Frontline last year, only to delay a planned multiplayer test for the game indefinitely in order to create “the best experience possible.”

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New Tomb Raider Announced, Runs On Unreal Engine 5

During Epic’s State of Unreal event, Crystal Dynamics confirmed that it has begun work on the next Tomb Raider game and that it will run on Unreal Engine 5.

Where will Lara Croft’s journey take her next?

Find out in the next @TombRaider game from @CrystalDynamics, powered by Unreal Engine 5. #UE5 pic.twitter.com/pXtTA74K7o

— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) April 5, 2022

Developing…

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Assassin’s Creed Heroes Ezio And Eivor Join Fortnite This Week

As rumored, Assassin’s Creed is coming to Fortnite. Ubisoft’s stealthy-stabby series becomes just the latest big-name franchise crossing over with the popular battle royale game when Ezio and Eivor join the roster this week.

The Ezio Auditore outfit launches from the in-game shop on April 7 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. The DLC bundle comes with Ezio’s hidden blade as a pickaxe.

Assassin’s Creed comes to Fortnite

Gallery

Eivor from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also comes to Fortnite at that time. Her outfit has a “cloaked” alternate style, as well as black bling in the form of Eivor’s shield featuring the Raven clan logo. The bundle also includes Eivor’s Raven pickaxe. Additionally, the Wolf-Kissed Longboat glider is coming to the Fortnite store as part of the Assassin’s Creed collaboration.

The Eivor bundle also includes her Viking War Cry emote, which sees Eivor bang her shield and axes together in a very menacing-looking stance.

The items for Ezio and Eivor can be purchased individually, or players can buy the Tales from the Animus bundle. It includes everything mentioned above, as well as these extras:

Wolf-Kissed SprayEivor’s Fury Loading ScreenRaven Clan EmoticonA Tales from the Animus Banner

Check out the loading screen below and the gallery above to get a closer look at the Assassin’s Creed content coming to Fortnite this week.

The Eivor’s Fury loading screen is very impressive

In other Ubisoft news, the company just announced that Rainbow Six Siege is coming to mobile.

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Video Game Orchestra Wins A Grammy For Cover Of A Kirby Song

It’s been a pretty big couple of weeks for everyone’s favorite pink mascot, Kirby. Not only did he just set off on a brand new platforming adventure with Kirby and The Forgotten Land, but now The 8-Bit Big Band has won a Grammy for a rendition of a song from one of his classic games from a bygone era.

The 8-Bit Big Band, a jazz orchestra known for reimagining a plethora of video game tunes, covered “Meta Knight’s Revenge” from 1996’s beloved Super Nintendo release Kirby Superstar. The band celebrated their win in a Twitter post on Sunday evening featuring a chant, “LONG LIVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC!!”

HOLY SHIT WE WON THE GRAMMY!!LONG LIVE VIDEO GAME MUSIC!! Thanks to everybody who’s ever listened to @the8bitbigband , ALL of artists who have contributed their time/talent and of course HUGE thanks to my co-arranger the one and only @Button__Masher !! MUCH LOVE! pic.twitter.com/4JTakDTPQC

— The 8-Bit Big Band (@the8bitbigband) April 3, 2022

The 8-Bit Big Band has impressed in the past with covers of other classic video game tunes like “Zelda’s Lullaby” from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, “Spring Yard Zone” from Sonic the Hedgehog, and many more. In February, they released a rendition of “Still Alive” from Valve’s hit game Portal, which quickly rose to the top of their most-streamed songs.

For more on Nintendo’s adorable pink mascot, check out our Kirby and The Forgotten Land review, which we consider the best game in the character’s long and storied history.

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Nintendo Switch 14.1.0 Firmware Patch Notes Revealed For Latest Update

The latest firmware update for the Nintendo Switch is out now, but don’t expect lots of big and exciting changes. The big-ticket item with this update is the addition of “Platinum Point Notification Settings,” which is available from the System Settings.

“Unclaimed Platinum Points earned from completing Nintendo Switch Online missions on your Nintendo Switch system will generate notifications,” Nintendo said in the patch notes.

Users can toggle the notifications off to hide them.

You can see the full patch notes for version 14.1.0 below, as published on Nintendo’s website.

Before this, the big 14.0.0 update launched on March 21. It added Groups, which sounded like the long-awaited addition of folders, but the feature didn’t prove to be all that impressive.

In other Switch news, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has been delayed to 2023, while the system’s next big game, Nintendo Switch Sports, arrives this month.

Ver. 14.1.0 (Released April 4, 2022)

“Platinum Point Notification Settings” has been added under Notifications in System Settings.

Unclaimed Platinum Points earned from completing Nintendo Switch Online missions on your Nintendo Switch system will generate notifications. Nintendo Switch Online missions and rewards are not available in some countries and regions. For more information, see How to Complete a My Nintendo Mission.Setting these notifications to OFF will hide the notification sent when there are unclaimed Platinum Points.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Also Has Illusory Walls, Apparently

If you’re taking a break from Elden Ring to check out Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, it turns out you may need to stay in the habit of checking for illusory walls. Polygon writer Mike Mahardy discovered the false wall in Wonderlands, while looking for one of the game’s Lucky Dice.

Illusory walls, a well-known feature in FromSoftware games, have been a popular topic of discussion since a player found an illusory wall in Elden Ring that takes up to 50 strikes to break through. Likely a glitch of some sort, most illusory walls in FromSoft games take only a single hit to open, or require a special item to unlock.

While it’s tempting to look at Wonderlands’ illusory walls as a last-minute reference to Elden Ring, it’s most likely just luck that Elden Ring’s impossibly sturdy fake wall blew up just before the Borderlands spin-off release. While the term illusory wall is most strongly linked to FromSoft games, the concept has a long history in video games going back to hidden passages in Wolfenstein 3D and Doom.

According to a Vice feature on the history of illusory walls, it’s likely the name was originally inspired by spell descriptions in early Dungeons and Dragons handbooks. The concept of false walls likewise sees a lot of use in TTRPGs, which makes sense for Wonderlands, a game set within a tabletop campaign of Tiny Tina’s creation.

Luckily for Wonderlands players, the hidden walls in this game are easier to find than those in Elden Ring, with a “melee” prompt popping up when players move close to one. In the cases where those walls hide Lucky Dice, players will also be able to follow obvious audio prompts to find the useful collectible.

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A Streamer Has Beat Elden Ring Without Taking Any Damage

Since Elden Ring came out in February, some players, who apparently don’t find the base game difficult enough already, have started looking for ways to make the latest FromSoft title more of a challenge. This includes Twitch streamer Seki, who has just completed the game’s very first recorded no-hit/no damage run live on stream, Kotaku reports.

While fellow streamer GinoMachino already completed a no-hit Elden Ring run in March, Seki’s version adds another layer of difficulty, where taking any kind of environmental damage or fall damage will also result in having to start the run over again.

WE GOT THE RUN!!!!!!! WORLD’S FIRST NO-HIT/DAMAGE ELDEN RING. SHOUTED MY LUNGS OUT LOL #ELDENRING pic.twitter.com/E46WSlXU3v

— Seki (@SekiroShadow) April 2, 2022

Anyone who has played Elden Ring will appreciate how tricky it would be to avoid environmental hazards like the game’s notorious poison swamps, or the ever-present danger of taking an accidental fall. Speaking to Kotaku about the run, Seki has said that the hardest part was definitely the final boss, meaning many of his failed attempts took him all the way to the end of the game.

“The hardest part of the run by far is the final boss: Elden Beast,” the streamer explained. “It has a specific move that is infamously unfair: Elden Stars. One of the only ways to possibly avoid it is by staggering him while he’s casting the spell. This took dozens of hours of precise practice and training to time correctly.”

Overall Seki said that getting the successful three hour run took over 130 hours of planning, practice, and unsuccessful attempts. You can watch the full successful run above, or follow along on Seki’s Twitch to keep up with future attempts, including a planned all Remembrances, no-hit run.

Speedrunners have also been churning through the game in impressive form, with the first run under an hour posted less than a month after the game’s release. The current Any% speedrun record for Elden Ring is 17 minutes and 43 seconds, by YouTuber Distortion2.

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How To Cancel A Steal In MLB The Show 22

In MLB The Show 22, getting caught stealing can deflate an otherwise strong inning and take the momentum out of your offense, so it’s important to know how to cancel a steal before your runner takes off, as well as how to retreat once they’ve left the base but may be caught in a pickle. Here’s what you need to know about The Show’s complex but fully featured baserunning controls as they pertain to attempting and canceling a stolen base.

How to steal

First, we’ll walk you through how to steal, as the button combination to undo that is sort of its mirrored reflection on your controller. We’ll be using the game’s default baserunning controls for this guide.

To steal with all runners, press LT / L2 as the pitcher begins their delivery. That one is nice and simple. If you need to steal with a particular runner, point the left stick toward their base and press LT / L2. Stealing is all about timing, so don’t do this until you’re ready for them to go–that’s why we say to wait until the pitcher’s delivery has started. A bit of a lead off makes for a nice head start too, but lead off too far and you’re likely to get picked off, so be careful with how far off the base you go. To lead off all runners, press LB / L1. Similarly, individual runners can lead off if you again use the left stick plus the lead off button, LB / L1.

How to cancel a base steal

Now that you know how to steal, here’s how you change your mind, which will no doubt be crucial eventually even if you haven’t encountered such an issue yet. Once you’ve elected to steal, you can’t exactly recall the runner, but what you can do–if the pitcher hasn’t started their delivery yet–is call for a timeout by pressing down on the D-pad. This will reset all baserunning directions such as lead offs and steals, giving you a chance to rethink your strategy.

Stealing a base can be exhilarating or demoralizing, and it all comes down to execution.

If, however, it’s too late to call time, your best bet is to hold down RB / R1 (to return all baserunners) or by signaling a particular baserunner like before using the left stick. What this will do is essentially revert your baserunner back to their original base in a hurry. While this likely helps you avoid getting caught in a pickle, it will also mean your baserunner isn’t hustling toward the next base when your batter puts the ball in play–they’ll be retreating when they should be advancing and those few seconds are costly. With that in mind, you may want to avoid swinging at a pitch if you’re using the same pitch to recall your baserunner and cancel a steal.

It’s a bit of a messy situation no matter how you approach it, so your best bet is to not decide to steal unless you’re sure you’ve got the right situation for the right baserunner. Use the timeout option if it’s not too late, and if it is too late, well, consider it the game’s way of making you pay for your indecision. For more tips on MLB The Show 22, check out our guide on how to use Guess Pitch, as well as a walkthrough of the best hitting controls and pitching controls.

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