Crowdfunding Fraudsters Update: Indiegogo Sends RCL To Collections


Let’s get one thing straight: The Spectrum Vega Plus does not exist and Retro Computers Ltd. has lied every step of the way. On to the story.

It seems as though the long saga of Retro Computers Ltd. is finally reaching its tired, stretched far too long, conclusion. This month, RCL was given a simple set of instructions by Indiegogo following numerous, increasingly ridiculous excuses for delays and minimal contact with their base of backers: In return for an extension to June 15, Indiegogo wanted contact information for Sky representatives, that RCL needed to refund any backer who asked for a refund, and provide RCL with a review console.

These demands should theoretically be easy, especially the review console since as we all know, RCL allegedly had the whole stock set to ship between March 8 and 12 until the Cobra Commander of retro games, also known as former directors Paul Andrews and Chris Smith, dastardly reached out and encouraged developers to pull licenses over unpaid licensing that RCL claims it totally paid.

Keeping with tradition, Retro Computers Ltd treated deadlines like guidelines and completely ignored them, and now Indiegogo is sending in the A-Team. According to an update sent out to backers just tonight, Indiegogo announced that it is working with a collections agency to recoup funds in an effort to refund backers. They note that the effort will take considerable time, and that the campaign is still open to the Vega+ team should they decide to update us on their big shipment of Vega Plus units that may or may not exist.

All demands by backers to see photographic evidence of the release-version Vega Plus have been ignored by Retro Computers Ltd.

Dear Vega+ Backers,

As you are aware, we recently provided the Vega+ team a provisional extension (June 15th) to fulfill, based on some requirements from us. These included sending us contact information of Sky representatives, and refunding backers immediately upon request, as well as providing Indiegogo with a review console.

Unfortunately, these asks have not been met and we are unable to further provide the Vega+ team an extension. This has been a challenging situation for all involved, and one we thought would be resolved with the backers receiving their game consoles.

This week, we will be working with a collections agency to attempt to recoup funds disbursed, in an effort to be able to refund backers. Please note that, while we are pursuing collections, this process can take considerable time and the Vega+ team still has the opportunity to fulfill on their obligation of shipping the consoles to backers. We refer you to the Vega+ team for any updates on shipping. The campaign is still open to the Vega+ team, and they continue to have the ability to update you all via our platform.

We hope that the Vega+ team follows through on their promise, and that any remedial efforts on our part will be rendered obsolete.

Thank you for your understanding, and patience.

Trust & Safety, Indiegogo

(Source; Indiegogo)

Bless Online Promises To Fix Unpopular Balance Changes


Ask gamers what they want out of an MMO and “make me less powerful and the enemies more powerful” is probably not going to be high on the list. So when Bless Online developer Neowiz decided to slash player power across the board, those players were understandably annoyed. With waves of negative reactions to the patch coming in, Neowiz has again found themselves apologizing and promising to make things right.

In a post on the Steam discussions, Neowiz promised a patch early this week to address the following core issues:

  1. Decreasing ability (HP or defense) of monsters from the field and low-level dungeons. Adjustments will be determined by leveling area and monster level.
  2. Increasing Chain Bonus values. The more skills you connect, the higher the damage you will do. This will make up for the decreased DPS.

Direct damage increases and skill cooldown and resource adjustment will be worked on afterward.

Chaturday: You Can’t Download A Console (Yet)


The Pach is Bach! I have a particular affinity for Michael Pachter, partially because he gives me hope in my qualifications of becoming a respected analyst for the gaming industry ala Michael Pachter but without the few products I’ve assisted with being market failures, ala Leigh Alexander. Pachter isn’t right with his predictions all of the time, but then again who is?

This week Michael Pachter made the prediction that the next generation of consoles will still have disk drives, for reasons that are completely grounded in sensible logic: Retailers. Pachter makes the argument that there is no way consoles are going to go all-digital because retailers would revolt and many would likely refuse to stock them. He also notes the strong presence of the used game market.

“So, if you have to buy a console at retail, you can’t say to a retailer ‘Hey, please promote and sell my console but we’re not going to have any games available, so once you sell the console to your customer we’re going to take over the customer and own the relationship, we’re gonna make them download everything and screw you, we’re never going to let you sell a game again’.”

He’s right, and we know this because it has happened before. Ignoring the fact that the PSP Go sold like a wet fart, a number of retailers (read: small stores where employees would have more information and discussion with customers) were openly advocating against sales of the PSP Go, because the system was digital only and the store had no opportunity to recoup profits via software sales. The PSP was small potatoes, the idea of the Xbox Two selling without a disk drive? There is almost no incentive for Wal Mart to stock it, given how low profit margins on consoles are.

We can sort of look toward the PC market as an existing example of this, as that industry essentially went digital only over a decade ago with very few remnants of physical media still existing, and the majority of those being fancy plastic boxes with Steam keys inserted. My local Gamestop’s PC section is smaller than its display of Hatchimals, consisting of a keyboard (on clearance), two mice (on clearance), a bunch of cash cards, and ten boxed games (on clearance).

But I don’t think that Gamestop particularly cares about PC because they never had a stake in the hardware part of sales. Sure you had stores selling Steam machines for a hot minute, but that venture floundered and assuredly the physical retail market now considers the PC as that thing that doesn’t make up a notable portion of its income but is relegated to little cards that don’t take up much shelf space, so the two factors balance each other out.

But Connor, you might say, the PC market is doing just fine and there is neither physical media nor a used game market. True, but you also have to factor that the PC used market was stomped out well before the market boom of video games, swapping games mostly died with the 3.5 inch floppy and Microsoft DOS.

Unlike the PC market, retailers have a stake both in the hardware and the software aspects, with the second half helping the first in terms of revenue. Ignoring the backlash from consumers, the retailer revolt would pretty much torpedo sales and harm long term business relationships between retailers and the manufacturers.

Otherwise I have no opinion on the matter.

Bless Online Is A Mess Online; Neowiz Apologizes, Compensates Players


Bless Online launched into early access this week and the launch was a bit of a mess. Between server lag, outages, maintenance, and the existence of a rather treacherous item dupe exploit, players were up in arms with some demanding refunds for their founder’s pack purchases.

In response, Neowiz posted an apology, promising fixes and outlining plans for the weeks ahead. Since the game initially launched with just a few servers, more servers have been added and much of the lag seems to have subsided.

Bless Online’s Early Access was always intended to be a growing experience, with systems and content being added in the weeks and months ahead; this is why we chose the Steam Early Access program. We are sincerely sorry that our players were led to believe otherwise, and we are happy to allow refunds for those who feel they cannot wait for the new content to arrive. We hope that you will return to the world of Bless when the features you expect are in the game and ready for your participation.

As part of its compensation, Neowiz has granted accounts approximately $20 in Lumena, the game’s premium currency.

(Source: Steam)

Memories of Mars Hits Early Access On June 5


505 Games and Limbic Entertainment have announced that the open world survival game Memories of Mars will hit early access on Steam on June 5. Memories of Mars tasks players with surviving the harsh surface of the red planet, periodically wiping the planet’s surface as part of the game’s season system. Some talents and abilities gained through the season will cross over to the next, not leaving players completely empty handed when the new season starts.

(Source: Press Release)

It’s Official, PUBG Corp Is Suing Epic Games


It’s official, PUBG Corp has filed a copyright lawsuit against Epic Games according to Korea Times. After previously mulling further action for a genre that it did not create and does not own, at least not in the legal view of the United States or Europe, PUBG has officially filed a complaint against Epic Games. In Korea. The firm has filed an injunction and alleging copyright infringement in the Seoul Central District Courts.

PUBG Corp already has an active lawsuit going against NetEase, one that includes claims of ownership over concepts like frying pans as a weapon. While very concerned with the idea of others stealing concepts that they claim ownership of, PUBG has had run ins itself with theft, including plagiarizing a community ad for its game as well as several employees from Bluehole Studios being sentenced to prison for stealing from NCSoft.

(Source: Korea Times)

PSA: Only The Basic Bless Online Pack Is Eligible For Refund


Bless Online launches its head start into Early Access right now, and those of you interested in taking part can do so via one of three early access packs. Available for $40, for $70, and for $150, these early access packs grant various goodies for your in-game characters.

It should be noted, however, that of the three packs only one is refundable should you decide that the game is just not up to snuff within two hours of gameplay or two weeks of purchase, whichever comes first. The $70 and $150 packs are listed on Steam as not eligible for refund. It appears that this is linked to the founders packs constituting DLC, which Valve tends to be more restrictive of when it comes to refunds.

Those of you not too certain on your purchase may want to spring for the cheapest option, or simply wait it out as launch issues are dealt with. Launch issues with crashes and server overload may result in your game time going over the normal refundable period.

(Source: Steam)

Crowdfunding Mini-Update: Retro Computers Ltd Shop Is Open, Product Is Nonexistent


The ZX Spectrum Vega is now available for pre-order for those of you who didn’t get in on the original Indiegogo campaign two years ago for the product that is now more than a year and a half past its expected shipping date. For the low cost of £139.99, you too can secure yourself a recreation of the ZX Spectrum in handheld form with 1,000 licensed games, or at least pay for a product that shows no indication that it will ever actually release.

What games? Nobody knows, the website says to check back in on May 4 around 5-6 p.m. but that date has long come and gone and Retro Computers Ltd refuses to release the list because developers are still pulling their titles over allegedly unpaid royalties. They also refuse to update that page with its past due dateline. Due to a dispute over license holding, RCL has apparently had to reach out to the owners of all 1,000 games to make sure that they are still cleared to publish, a cross-check that I will remind you is happening twenty months after the device was originally supposed to ship. Evidently nobody bothered to check in that time whether or not RCL actually held the rights to the games they were hoping to publish.

In fact, the Vega Plus got so close to shipping that RCL was ready to give out a tentative date: May 8 through 12, which they missed and subsequently ignored until the 14, announcing then that the device was held up due at the eleventh hour to the aforementioned licensing dispute. Surely if RCL had the devices presumably ready to ship out within days, they would be available to show a photograph of even one finished, finalized piece of hardware, yes?

They haven’t, and any requests for such have been wholly ignored. No game list, no photos of the device, no photos of the box of the device, a company so incompetent that they are still figuring out licensing rights twenty months after the original shipping date. One thing that RCL haven’t forgotten to comment on are the numerous claims that longtime boogeymen and former directors Paul Andrews and Chris Smith are wreaking havoc on the company, eating their steak and ruining their lives.

If you are considering pre-ordering the Vega Plus on the RCL website in spite of this, I have a bridge that needs investors.

Beta Perspective: H1Z1 On PS4


I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I am enjoying H1Z1 on the Playstation 4. Is it the graphics? No, those are relatively standard for a game of this style and mostly subpar in the greater scheme of the Playstation. Is it the streamlined controls and faster paced action than its PC counterpart? We’re probably getting closer. Is it the fact that I can get through a match, kill seven people, and actually have a fleeting shot of winning? Absolutely.

Competence goes a long way toward enjoyment.

H1Z1 is a battle royale game from Daybreak Game Company, originally released on PC and now ported over to PS4 sans its survival mode counterpart. The PS4 version down to its fundamentals is a port of the PC copy but with a lot of the intricacies stripped out. Gone is crafting, your inventory, weapon attachments, and more. What’s left is a survival mode shooter that will likely make you happy that the game isn’t pulling such complicated systems in a rather fast paced game and handing you a controller to fumble your way through it.

For those of you who have managed to avoid this genre, I’ll go over the details: H1Z1 throws up to 100 players on to an island littered with weapons, armor, and vehicles and has them battle it out to the last remaining survivor. You and 99 players are essentially thrown into an arms race where you try to build up your offensive and defensive power by raiding the numerous towns, houses, and camps that litter the landscape. As the match progresses the playable area gets smaller as a toxic gas slowly encroaches upon players. This ultimately leads to each map starting of slow, watching players get picked off, and ending with just a massacre of the remaining players as they all get grouped up into the last remaining safe spaces.

As a genre, the battle royale game mode is all about your experiences and how you experience the game is directly related to whether or not you enjoy it, and how much. Combat is fleeting so there tends to be more memorable moments of survival or failure, like the time I hunkered down in a gas station and wound up taking out six players before being forced out by the toxic gas, or the time I parachuted into the world only to immediately have my brains blown out by some guy who found a pistol seconds before I did. Victory, while likely more common in group games, always seems to have a memorable story behind it of you and the other last remaining dude or dudette battling it out in the toxic fog.

Controls and handling in H1Z1 is pretty unique compared to other shooters on the platform. Guns are tight and control pretty much how you would expect for a third person shooter, but vehicle handling is all over the place thanks to a rather wonky physics system. You’ll be spending a fair amount of time driving in a vehicle, so getting used to the loose turning is going to be necessary for survival.

What makes the gunplay so special in H1Z1 is that the game is very straight forward in how it plays. There is a large enough variety that you’ll inevitably find your favorite close and long range weapons, but basic enough that you’ll figure out what each weapon does within the first few games. Weapons are familiar enough that you’ll know how they work: Pistols can shoot faster but do less damage, or slower and be more powerful. Shotguns are killer at close range while SMGs shoot fast to make up for their lack of punch. The only wacky weapon that H1Z1 really has to offer is the crossbow that shoots explosive arrows, great for area of effect damage or destroying a moving vehicle.

Equipment you pick up is also huge for your survival. You will find basic helmets and makeshift armor everywhere, with higher end military gear available only from caches that dot the landscape. You can also find backpacks that let you carry more weapons and combat boots that let you run faster.

Microtransactions come down to cosmetics which in turn act sort of weird. You can buy gold and then spend said gold on loot crates or earn them through gameplay, and those crates in turn unlock cosmetics for various weapons/equipment that effectively override your current default. How does this work in a game where your items are all found throughout the world? I’m glad you asked. When you equip said item, the look gets overridden to your default. Simple as.

End of the day, I feel like H1Z1 is a game that people will either hate or they will love, until they hit three bad games in a row of dying within three minutes of landing, and log off to stop themselves from angrily throwing their controller through the television, and come online to finish the beta review that they should have done two days ago.

Unless that’s just me.

EA/Bioware’s David Crooks: “The World Just Felt A Little Better” Over Death of TotalBiscuit


(Update: Casey Hudson, Bioware GM, has issued a statement of disappointment over Crooks’ Twitter tirade. It appears Crooks is not currently employed at Bioware.)

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(Original Story)

 

In a series of now deleted Tweets, Electronic Arts programmer David Crooks had some rather blunt commentary regarding the death of game critic John Bain, better known by his handle TotalBiscuit. Bain passed away at the age of 33 this week after a struggle with bowel cancer, which did not stop Crooks from posting his thoughts just a few hours after the news broke that the “world just felt a little bit better.” Crooks went on a tirade concluding with “good riddance to bad rubbish.”

While David Crooks’ Twitter has since gone into protected mode and he has seemingly removed references to his employment at Bioware, he wasn’t fast enough to stop the Tweets from being permanently archived via the link below. Crooks list of work includes Mass Effect: Andromeda and Star Wars: Battlefront II. Neither Electronic Arts nor Bioware have commented on the controversy, and MMO Fallout has not reached out for comment.

(Source: Archive.is)