In Plain English: Epic Sues Two Fortnite Cheat Creators


I’m not entirely happy with the press coverage of Epic Games’ lawsuit. If you’ve been reading the news this week, you may be under the impression that Epic Games was so angry about two particular players cheating in Fortnite that the game developer decided to take these two individuals to court. This isn’t exactly the case.

Epic Games has filed complaints against Charles Vraspir and Brandon Boom in separate cases in North Carolina district court. Unsurprisingly, Epic has chosen to go with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for their main point of attack, alleging that the cheats involve illegally modifying the game code. By going for copyright infringement, Epic is looking to slap both defendants with some potentially hefty fines (up to $150,000 each) plus damages and any additional profits that the defendants made from the sale of said cheats. In the interim, Epic is seeking an injunction preventing the defendants from continuing to use and advertise said cheat programs.

One interesting note in this lawsuit that may help their case is intent. The lawsuit docket makes several notes of both Vraspir and Boom stating that their goal is to ruin the business viability of Fortnite by making the game as unbearable to play as possible.

In an effort to adversely impact as many people as possible while playing and cheating at Fortnite, Defendant specifically targets streamers. He has declared that it is his objective to prevent streamers from winning the game and has boasted in online cheating discussion channels that his goal is to “stream snipe,” i.e., kill streamers as they stream. Defendant has said that making streamers hate Fortnite is Defendant “in a nutshell.”

Epic also alleges that Vraspir’s conduct may be related to the fact that he was banned from Fortnite PvE for cheating:

 

Defendant’s unlawful conduct may be the result of a misplaced antipathy towards Epic because he was banned from Epic for cheating.

This is known in court as the famous “u mad” strategy.

Now those of you who read In Plain English know that the legality of cheating has come up in the past. The court ruled that the use of bot software in World of Warcraft did not constitute copyright infringement because the software itself was found to not violate Blizzard’s copyright. If the software is found to be violating Epic’s copyright by making illegal modifications or by violating DMCA rules in circumventing protections, it could spell trouble.

This is a copyright infringement and breach of contract case in which the Defendant is infringing Epic’s copyrights by injecting unauthorized computer code into the copyright protected code of Epic’s popular Fortnite® video game. In so doing, Defendant is creating unauthorized derivative works of Fortnite by modifying the game code and, thus, materially altering the game that the code creates and the experience of those who play it.

The Fortnite cheat in question has been discontinued on the cheat maker’s website, along with a Paragon cheat that was similarly discontinued over legal disputes from Epic.

Daybreak Announces Pro League for King of the Kill


How would you like to earn money while playing a game where shooting streamers is legal?

Daybreak Game Company today announced that its Battle Royale shooter H1Z1: King of the Kill will be getting the pro gaming treatment. Already host to professional tournaments, Daybreak has partnered with Twin Galaxies to create a “sustainable, first of its kind, professional esports league for the “one versus all” battle royale genre.”

The partnership has already produced a gamer’s bill of rights, guaranteeing the right to a “fair and livable wage,” as well as a governance committee and “best-in-class principles.” The league conference will be held on October 20, with the application window on the 23, team announcements in Q1 2018, and league play beginning in Q2 2018.

The league will consist of 15 teams of 5 players. There will be no fees or buy in costs for teams to participate.

(Source: H1Z1)

Secret World Legends Adds Orochi Tower


Funcom today released the latest update to Secret World Legends, introducing the Orochi Tower and bringing the Tokyo story to a close. Players have been keeping an eye on the so far inaccessible tower since Tokyo became available earlier this year.

Now that the area is accessible, players will finally be able to bring the story arc to an end.

“This final chapter of the Tokyo saga features hours of new story and gameplay content,” says Executive Producer Scott Junior. “Players get to explore over 20 sections of the massive tower, fighting their way to the top to uncover dark secrets behind the Orochi Corporation’s experiments. This concludes the Tokyo storyline and brings Secret World Legends up to date with the content of The Secret World. From here on out it will be unexplored territory for everyone and we are very excited about the future.”

More details on the update can be found on the official website.

[NM] Despite Loot Box Controversy, Shadow of War Gets Good Reviews


Yesterday marked the launch of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, and not everyone is happy with Monolith’s monetization scheme. Reviews are pretty positive, however a number of critical outlets have mentioned that late game progress is heavily tied to loot boxes and grind. But enough about the critics, how do players feel?

Over on Steam, Shadow of War is being received quite positively. Out of 1,000 reviews, 84% are positive. There are, at the moment of this publication, over 42 thousand playing the PC version with an early peak of 52,658.

One player figured out that you can turn off online components by not agreeing to that part of the terms of service. The video below has some baseless claims, including that WB is selling user data to third parties. You can see the part about shutting off microtransactions at the start.

Final Fantasy XIV 4.1 Update Takes Players to Ivalice


Square Eninx today released patch 4.1 for Final Fantasy XIV, bringing players back to Ivalice. The update includes more main scenario quests, a new 24-player raid series, a new high level dungeon, solo dungeons, housing areas and more. Solo dungeons are an interesting concept, it appears that players are able to hire squadrons which can be leveled up and commanded to aid you in your dungeon raiding, however they are only available for certain dungeons.

The highly anticipated new story arc and alliance raid will send players to the ruins of the Royal City of Rabanastre as they learn more about the Majestic Imperial Theater Company and unravel the mysteries of the legend of Ivalice.

(Source: Final Fantasy XIV)

Battlefront II Getting Panned Over Pay To Win Elements


Star Wars: Battlefront II just recently launched its open beta, and it is getting panned by critics and users alike over pay to win elements present in the game.

With the latest title in the Battlefront franchise, EA/Dice decided to go down the route of loot boxes as the main source of secondary income, tying abilities and crafting materials to random chance. Users have been pointing out how powerful the abilities are, such as an ability for Bobba Fett which allows him to take 100% less damage (effectively invulnerable) while flying with his jetpack, and how the expense/rarity of obtaining or crafting said abilities is encouraging players to spend a ton of money on crates in order to not be at a disadvantage. Another example includes up to 40% health increases on bombers.

Have you played the Battlefront II beta? If so, do you agree with the critics below?

So if I spend $200 on crates, open or craft all the best cards I can, then face an equally skilled opponent at the same level as me who didn’t spend money, I will likely win because I have better tools available.
–IGN

To make matters worse, awarded currency comes in at a flat rate for the team regardless of performance, making it even harder to strategically earn to earn everything the game has to offer.
–Kitguru

What’s even worse is that for some reason, the developers have decided that it’s okay for progression to be completely random. Unlike the previous game, regardless of which classes or even mode you’re playing, the loot box system completely dictates the overall progression.
–WCCFTech

Cards are not rewarded based on the class you play, so if you’re unlucky you could end up with a bunch of garbage for a class you never touch. It also has made leveling meaningless—unlike Overwatch, there’s no crate reward for gaining a level, which is utterly bizarre.
–PCWorld

Put simply, this is an exploitative and greedy system I’m surprised has made it this far. Question is, will EA let it go the whole way, or will it use a saving throw and alter the system for full release?
–Eurogamer

What can I do to side-step this bad luck? Well, EA could ask me to spend real money of course. Buying as many loot crates as I need to get the abilities I want, either using crafting parts or waiting until the RNG falls on my side. People who would buy the most loot crates on day one will have a significant advantage over those players that don’t, which is depressing because the underlying game seems supremely amazing.
–Windows Central

And if these loot boxes are purchasable from the get-go, yes, I can imagine that players who buy say, 50 boxes on launch day will be at an advantage over someone who is going to grind out 50 boxes over the course of the next month, even if the “opportunity” is there for them to get the same amount of crates when one pays and one doesn’t.
–Forbes

There is something about the timing of Battlefront 2’s release that coincides with the ongoing debate in the gaming community regarding loot boxes. But of the games listed as “offenders” so far, Battlefront 2 is the game critics are singling out as having a particularly hostile loot system.
–US Gamer

While Star Wars Battlefront 2 has yet to be released, unless the ability to purchase loot crates with cash is removed from the game, it’s difficult to see how EA could change the current system without it being pay-to-win.
–Game Revolution

PUBG Is Dominating PC, But Fortnite Is Gaining Speed


The effects of Fortnite Battle Royale on Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds appears to be nil, at least in the sense that the former has seen a great deal of success and yet the latter continues to rise in popularity. Launched as a free addition to Fortnite, Epic’s Battle Royale clocked in an impressive 525,000 peak concurrent user count with 3.7 million daily active users. If Battle Royale was a Steam title, that would put it somewhere in fourth place below PUBG, Dota 2, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Meanwhile, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds continues to shatter records on Steam, setting a new peak of 1.98 million players on Saturday October 9.

Both titles are currently dealing with a swarm of cheaters, an inevitable outcome given the overall active user base. Fortnite announced that it has banned thousands of cheaters and will continue working on features that reward legitimate players while punishing people who cycle through throwaway accounts. In spite of these efforts, Epic also announced that Fortnite is experiencing an issue with false positive bans.

Bluehole meanwhile continues to work against cheating with some success. Despite their efforts, blatant cheaters are dominating the PUBG leaderboards. According to multiple sources, you can identify what are effectively advertising accounts for cheat creators situated in China, as the number strings are QQ (think Chinese Skype) contact details to buy said cheats. How Bluehole plans on taking down cheaters effectively using their platform to advertise their business has not been detailed.

Regardless, it looks like there is plenty of room on the internet for both games to thrive, and continue growing.

Ghost Recon Wildlands: Ubisoft Adds PvP, Free Weekend Coming


Player vs player combat is coming to Ghost Recon Wildlands, so what better time than the present to play host to a free week?

Gamers on PC, PS4, and Xbox One will be able to jump in to Ghost Recon from October 12 to the 15, with PC players able to preload starting today, October 9. The PvP update hits servers tomorrow, October 10, as a free update to all who already own the game.

Ghost War is a 4-versus-4 team deathmatch experience that builds on the tactical squad play from the main game, where strategy is equally as important as skill. Using one of the 12 distinct classes, each with their own varied characteristics, weapons, perks and customisation options, players will engage with enemies across eight unique maps. Ghost War also integrates new PvP mechanics, including suppressing fire and sound markers, to create a strategic and intense team-based multiplayer mode.

Further along the road, Ubisoft will expand player vs player by adding in new maps, new modes, and new classes, all of which will be free for all players (new classes will be unlocked with prestige points). Wildlands season pass owners will have one week early access to new classes.

(Source: Ubisoft press release)

Black Bolt Silently Lands On Marvel Heroes Omega


Marvel Heroes Omega has a new hero on Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Starting today, you’ll be able to get your hands on Black Bolt. Right now you can only get hold of Black Bolt via a store purchase. The pack costs $20 and includes a bonus costume, 2 loot boxes, and 2 experience boosts. Those not willing to plonk down hard cash can wait until November 2 when Black Bolt will be available for eternity splinters.

Strike from the shadows with Elektra! The master combatant launches on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 today! The king of Attilan may not have as much to say as the other 42 playable Marvel Heroes Omega characters but, thanks to his ability to channel and manipulate electrons and particles, a mere whisper from the King of the Inhumans can destroy an entire civilization His actions don’t speak louder than his words— his words are his actions.

Black Bolt was released on PC in February this year.

(Source: Marvel Heroes)

[NM] Telltale Batman Game Shows Very Real Dead Russian Ambassador [Warning]


(Update: Telltale has stated that the image has been removed and that they are looking into how it ended up in the game to begin with)

(Editor’s Note: In probably the first and hopefully last time on this website, this article contains a photograph of the aftermath of a shooting. There is no blood/gore present in the photo, but this warning will stand nonetheless)

In 2016, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was gunned down at an Ankara art gallery by Mevlüt Mert Alt?nta?, an off-duty Turkish police officer. News of the assassination spread like wildfire, and because it occurred during a public speech, there were plenty of cameras present to catch the assassination in action. Photographs taken and posted online have become famous, enough so that one Telltale employee decided to import the image of Andrei Karlov’s body directly into the game. The two versions are copies below, along with a stream (skip to about 24 minutes into the video), you can see that the body was directly copied into the game, rather than a character having been modeled in-engine that simply looks similar.

Another body is pictured in the photo, we cannot ascertain his identity as of press time. It should be noted for the squeamish that Andrei Karlov died later at the hospital, the photo below does not technically depict a dead man at the time it was taken. The image appears in Telltale’s Batman Season 2, Episode 2.

The photo comparison is below.